It's For the Best
by OriginalBlayze
Summary: After an incident at home, Blaine must live in Houston with his cousin Kaitlyn. His dad left him with a broken spirit feeling worthless. Kaitlyn wants him to find the confidence his dad took away. Can BB prove daddy wrong and find that confidence with the help of Kaitlyn, her boyfriend Seth, and their friends? See how BB's journey unfolds.
1. A Time for Change

**It took a while to get this out, but Blayze is back! It took a lot longer to get this version out and ready to go. For those who don't know, this is a better version of my first story From the Ground Up. I honestly didn't like what was going on with the story, so i decided to put FTGU on hiatus and give it a fine tuning and here it is.**

 **The main premise of the story is pretty much the same, just with some things taken out and others added in. Hopefully you guys like this story as much or even more than FTGU. Anyways, here is the first official chapter of It's For the Best.**

* * *

" _I hope to God Dad is in a good mood when I get home."_ 16 year old Blaine Bonin said as he walked home on a warm day in Tulsa. Even though his name is Blaine, most people called him BB—which annoyed him when he was younger; he eventually got used to it. Worrying about his father's temperament has been a common occurrence for numerous years.

At first, BB thought it was because he refused to be a football star like his brother. BB realized early on that he had no desire to do football because he was five inches shorter and fifty pounds lighter than his older brother, Chance. He wasn't scrawny—he had some muscle for being on the track team—he had no interest in football. Also, he preferred the idea of comic books and superhero movies—a "nerdy" life.

Whatever the reason is, it caused problems because BB declined to acknowledge or speak to other people about his father being abusive. It's one of BB's biggest secrets. What made it worse was that no other family members knew; BB felt like the pain caused was all his fault and he didn't know how to make the situation better. BB looked over at the clock tower by city hall and saw that he was extremely late, so he ran like hell to get home before he got in big trouble—knowing the smallest thing could set him off—and he didn't know why.

Ten minutes later, BB made it home—hoping his dad was at work or with some skank for the night. BB walked inside and about threw up when the stench of something he couldn't recognize hit him in the face. He did sigh in relief when he saw that his dad wasn't in the living room as he walked upstairs to his bedroom. The relief quickly left his face when he found his dad sitting on his bed with a belt in his hand

"H…H…hi dad." BB manages to stutter out, having a bad feeling about what's going to happen. His dad gets off the bed and walks over to his son—towering over him.

"What are you doing home so late?" His dad asks with a calm tone.

"Sorry. I lost track of time at the library." BB replied with a little more confidence in his voice.

"Why the hell did you not look at the clock at the library?"

"It was broken and I didn't have a clock with me!"

"Why don't you have one?"

"Because SOMEBODY decided to break my phone and my watch." BB yelled at his father. _"Oh shit. This is not gonna…."_ BB thought when he realized his mistake a bit late, but he never got to finish his thought when the belt in his father's hand slapped him across the face. BB stumbled back a few feet and scrambled out of the bedroom with his father hot on his heels. His dad grabs BB by the ponytail and shoves him against the wall and cracks the belt against his back before turning him around and covering his mouth.

"Where the fuck do you get off blaming me for your problems, you little bastard? You are always getting into trouble this year at school. Constant detentions, parent-teacher conferences, don't forget the suspensions you racked up. I don't know what the fuck your problem is, but it's going to be changed pretty quickly." His dad said releasing his hand from BB's mouth.

"All I want to know is what happened between us? You have been this way towards me ever since mom died. I want to know what I did to you to make you hate me so much. You never had this much anger toward Chance. Why me?" BB asked starting to back up. His dad caught up quickly and grabbed him by the shirt.

"What happened? I don't need to give any reason. All you need to know is that you're worthless! You're a worthless little bastard!" BB's dad said as he swung his fist back and punch him in the face. The force from the punch knocked BB backwards…and sent him tumbling down the stairs. BB managed to grab onto the stair rail halfway down and he tried to pull himself up. Unfortunately, his dad grabbed him by the shirt and drug him down the rest of the stairs.

"I think you're wrong." BB managed to say before being shoved back first into the front door—the door knob catching him in the low back. BB's dad scoffed at him while dragging BB up by the hair and opening the front door.

"You know what. I'm done with you. I don't care if you are sixteen or not. You think I'm wrong? You won't even last a week without my help or money. Get out! I wouldn't come back if I were you because if you do, you'll get the beating of your life. You ungrateful BASTARD." BB's dad remarked as he shoved BB out the door. BB stumbles off the porch and lands face first in the yard. BB is slow to get up as he is feeling sore all over his body. BB reaches into his pocket and feels something broken as he pulls out his broken glasses.

" _Shit. Guess I need to get new ones. Good thing I paid extra for contacts this time."_ BB thought as he started walking down the street spitting blood after being popped in the mouth. He knew he was probably bleeding, but he partially didn't care because it's happened before.

He didn't know what to do now because his dad threw him out of the house—with just the clothes on his back. As he was walking down the street, he started thinking about the things his dad said to him. The thing that disturbed him the most was the fact he sidestepped BB's question about his mother.

BB's mother was sick, but it wasn't like the flu or complications from pregnancy—it was cancer. His mother first found out about the tumor when BB was three, but was declared cancer free a year later. Unfortunately, the cancer came back worse when BB was eleven; she died eight months later from it—two weeks before BB's twelfth birthday. It wouldn't surprise BB that his dad probably blamed him for the death. What made it worse that BB blamed himself. It didn't help that BB had nobody to talk to when all the tragedy was occurring—his dad was angry all the time and his older brother was fourteen and wanted to be left alone all the time. The only thing BB could do was push away the emotions.

It was about four months after the funeral when it first happened. BB asked a question about his mom—a subject that was taboo in their house—and his dad slapped him. The abuse got worse over the years and tonight being one of the worst beatings that BB endured. It would have been easier to endure if BB didn't get beat two days before. The mental scars left were much worse than the physical ones. BB had NO self-confidence, he didn't talk to very many people outside the track team, he has trust issues, he flinched whenever somebody tried to touch him, and the sight of somebody holding a leather belt scared him—for obvious reasons.

* * *

When BB walked by a payphone—one of the last ones in the city—he remembered that he might have one and only one choice. As BB walked back to the payphone, he tried to avoid the weird looks he was getting. At the payphone, BB pulled out his change and a phone number from his wallet and he called the one person who might be able to help.

" _Blackman. Tulsa Police Department."_ The voice on the other side of the line said. BB thanked the gods that he answered his phone.

"Un…Uncle…Steve." BB said stuttering. Steve Blackman had been friends with his dad for so long that he and Chance called him Uncle Steve on occasion.

" _Blaine? Blaine are you ok?"_ Steve asks.

"Umm…not really. I need your help." BB said trying to take a breath, but it getting harder by the second. Steve could hear that and thought the worst.

" _Where are you? I'm coming to get you."_ Steve replied.

"I'm at that shitty payphone by the McAlister's on Sixth Street." BB said.

" _Don't move. I'm on my way."_ Steve said quickly hanging up. BB hung up the phone and tried to find a place that didn't bring him any unwanted attention.

Ten minutes later, BB saw Steve pull up in his police car. As Steve walked towards BB, he put his head in his knees because he didn't want to look his Uncle Steve in the face.

"Come on, Blaine, let me get a look at you." Steve said as BB replied by shaking his head no. Steve rolled his eyes. "Now is not the time to be stubborn. Let me get a look at you." Steve demanded. BB knew that he couldn't win this argument, so BB stood up and looked at Steve. Steve couldn't believe the sight of this little kid covered in dried blood and bruises. Steve quickly pulled BB into hug as BB tried as hard as he could not to break down and cry. After a moment, Steve let go of the hug and escorted BB to the police car.

"What happened?" Steve asked helping BB into the car as BB still held his side.

"I don't want to talk about it." BB replied trying to push himself away—which was his go-to move whenever people started asking him questions about his personal life. Unfortunately for BB, Steve had an idea about what was going on. Steve worked as a school resource officer for a couple years and one of the main people he talked to was the little kid who he knew since he was born. Every time Steve even tried to bring up the subject of his home life, BB refused to talk about it. Steve had his assumptions, but the assumption might be fact by seeing BB battered and bloodied. Steve saw BB holding his ribs, and he knew what he had to do first before asking him more questions.

"Where are we going?" BB asked when Steve started driving.

"Where else? The emergency room." Steve replied.

"What?! Why?!" BB asked in shock.

"Because you are hurt. You have been holding your ribs ever since I showed up. There could be more damage than you even know." Steve said looking at BB with sincerity.

"But they are going to ask questions!" BB said starting to panic. The last thing he wanted to do was to tell some random doctor that he got the shit beat out of him by his dad.

"I'll take care of that. Don't worry. Ok?" Steve asks. BB was still nervous but he nodded the affirmative. Steve gave BB a sympathetic look as he drove towards the hospital.

* * *

Sometime later, BB woke up in some random bedroom. BB tried to get up, but he got dizzy and sat back down on the bed. Moments later, Steve walked into the bedroom and sat next to BB.

"Morning. About time you woke up. You've been sleeping for two days. Four bruised ribs, one cracked rib, bruises galore, and a black eye. Otherwise you were extremely lucky." Steve said rubbing safe spot on BB's back.

"Two days? What happened?" BB asked rubbing his temples. As he looked down he saw he was wearing only a tank top and gym shorts. "Wait…where are my clothes?" BB asked with confusion in his voice. Steve laughed in response.

"Your jeans and socks are folded in the living room, but I trashed your shirt. Too stained with blood I'm afraid." Steve admitted. BB muttered 'Oh God' and put his face in his hands.

"I know you don't want to talk about it, but answer me one question. Did it happen?" Steve asked already knowing the answer; he just wanted BB to answer the question.

He honestly didn't want to answer the question. BB has been sweeping the subject under the rug for four years, why start changing things now? But looking up at Steve made him realize that this won't be a time he can change the subject. Steve wanted an answer and he wanted an answer now. BB couldn't gain enough confidence or strength to verbally answer; he weakly nodded his head yes.

"I never thought that Johnny would be capable of doing that to his own child. Pisses me the fuck off." Steve said reigning in his anger.

"I don't wanna talk about it." BB said with no emotion in his voice. "I do have a question, though. Can I move in with you?" BB asked hoping Uncle Steve would say yes. Steve knew that BB was going to ask that, so it made what he was about to say that much harder.

"Kiddo, you know I would love to have you; you can't move in." Steve said with hurt in his voice knowing that BB's heart just sunk. "Let me explain. Blaine, after I dropped you off here after seeing the doctor, we responded to a domestic disturbance call at your house. Blaine…your father was arrested last night. For that and some other things I can't discuss with you."

"You guys arrested him? Damn it! He's gonna know it was me. Fuck I'm going to get the shit beat out of me now! Why did you do that? I didn't say anything." BB said getting mad. Steve knew that BB was going to get mad, but what was going to happen will be the best for Blaine.

"Actually, no it wasn't you. One of your neighbors heard the commotion and called the police." Steve said while BB looked at him with a confused look on his face.

"What does that have to do with me?" BB asked in reply. Steve looked down and took a deep breath before replying.

"It's a long story, but let me give you end result…the judge determined that you were in an unsafe environment with your father. The judge ruled that your father lose custody of you for the time being." Steve answered.

"Lost custody? Wait…who has custody of me?" BB asked, tired of beating around the bush. Steve decided to come clean and tell BB the truth.

"The judge awarded custody to the next of kin—your Aunt Cheryl and Uncle Mike. Blaine, you're moving to Houston." Steve finally admitted to BB. BB is in complete shock as he flings himself backwards onto the bed.

"Houston? Why do I have to go to Houston? I don't want to go to Houston. My school is here. My team is here. My friends…well what I have…are here. Why can't I just stay in Tulsa with you?" BB asks frantically. BB lied about the part on leaving his friends. He really didn't have any because BB didn't want to deal with the big explanation about his home life.

"Do you think staying here with me will make things better? For now, yes. What about when your dad gets out of jail? Not really. As much as I would like you to stay here, it would be best for you to go to Houston." Steve replies pulling BB into a hug.

BB doesn't know what to say. As much as he really doesn't want to go, Uncle Steve may be right. On the other hand, BB has a bad feeling about all of this starting to turn into a drama with the shit hitting the fan. Right now, BB really doesn't have much of a say regarding this situation. He's just going to have to go and hope for the best.

"Ok. Maybe it will be for the best. So…when do we leave for Houston?" BB asks rubbing his temple with a mix of annoyance and a pounding headache from being hit in the head.

"Actually…we are leaving for Houston tonight." Steve replies cautiously.

"TONIGHT!" BB screams leading to Steve holding his ear. "How can I leave tonight? I can't believe this is happening."

"Come on, Blaine. We need to stop by your house to get some of your things." Steve says helping BB up to get dressed.

* * *

" _I can't believe this is happening. I really can't believe this is happening."_ Was all BB could think for the last three hours of this eight hour car ride. He knew that in just a few hours that he was more than likely going to have to tell two or three people his biggest skeleton in his closet.

"Blaine, you need to calm down. Everything is going to be alright." Steve says trying to reassure the teenager in the passenger seat.

"Easy for you to say. What exactly do Cheryl and Mike know about the all this?" BB asks wondering how much his aunt and uncle truly know.

"They know that they are gaining custody of you for the time being. I told them the reasoning was classified. That answer satisfied them for now." Steve replied focusing on the road.

"For now?" BB asks.

"Blaine, they are going to need to know why they are becoming your guardians. As much as it terrifies you or makes you want to hide away, you are going to have to tell them the truth." Steve says with resolve.

"I figured, but the thing that scares me the most is that I have been hiding this from my whole family for years and I'm finally telling people. I'm scared that Cheryl and Mike are going to tell people and cause World War Three in our family. I'm scared that my family is going to start judging me and thinking of me differently. I'm scared that they are going to think of me as some pity case." BB says almost yelling at Steve. He didn't mean to, but all the insecurities and anxiety he has about the situation is starting to boil over.

"I know you're nervous, but there isn't anything to be nervous about. Trust me. They wouldn't consider letting you move to Houston if they didn't love you. They want the best for you." Steve replies. BB looks up at Steve and nods his head as he starts to fall asleep.

Two hours later, they finally reach Houston and pull into Cheryl and Mike's driveway. BB and Steve get out of the car. Steve starts walking to the door, but BB doesn't move and just stares at the house.

"I think I'm going to throw up, Uncle Steve." BB admits. Steve walks back to BB and rolls his eyes.

"Come on, you can do this. You are talking to family. We've went over this. Now come on." Steve says patting BB on the back and helping him walk up the steps to the front door. Steve knocks on the door, but it wasn't Cheryl or Mike who answered it—it was BB's cousin Kaitlyn.

When they were younger, BB and Kaitlyn were thought of as twins—even though Kaitlyn was seven months older—because they almost looked alike and were about the same height. After seeing Kaitlyn, BB realized that this just got a lot harder than he expected.

"Uncle Steve!" Kaitlyn yells as she hugs Steve.

"Hi Katie, long time no see. How have you been?" Steve replies.

"I've been good. Now I see my cousin back there…now give a hug you little…oh my god!" Kaitlyn exclaims after letting Steve go and getting a look at her cousin. "What the hell happened to you, Blaine?"

"Nothing that major happened. I just got into a little fight with someone." BB lied.

"Katie, where are your parents? I want to see them really quick." Steve asked intervening.

"They're in the living room. Come on in." Kaitlyn answered as she shows Steve and BB to Cheryl and Mike.

"Hey, Mom, guess who is here! Uncle Steve and Blaine are here!" Kaitlyn tells her parents.

"Steve. It's a pleasant surprise seeing you. It's been a while." Cheryl says.

"A long while, Cheryl, but I wish I was here visiting under better circumstances." Steve replied escorting BB into the living room. As BB sits down, Mike gets a look at BB's face and can't believe what he sees.

"Blaine, what happened to your face? Steve is this why Blaine is down here?" Mike asks Steve.

"Partly." BB answers weakly. Everyone looks over at BB with a mix of shock and confusion on their face.

"Kaitlyn, can you go upstairs so we can talk to Blaine in private?" Cheryl asks her daughter.

"What's the big deal? Blaine got into a fight. He's gotten into a few of those over the years." Kaitlyn asks wondering what in the world was going on.

"Kaitlyn please! We need to talk to your cousin alone." Mike asks with a much more serious tone. Kaitlyn shrugs, still wondering the big deal was, and walks upstairs to her room.

"Ok, Blaine, what is going on here? We get a call three days ago saying that your father has been arrested and we were awarded temporary custody of you. That's all we've been told. Can you explain this all to us?" Mike asks. BB looks down at the floor because he can't make eye contact with anybody right now. Steve knows what's going on and leans down to BB.

"It's ok. You'll be fine. Just take a deep breath and go. You'll feel much better when you do." Steve says reassuring BB. BB takes as deep a breath as he can with his ribs taped up and looks up to his aunt and uncle.

"Whatever statements Steve has told you this point…have probably been true. He left some stuff out because he wanted me to tell you guys. He's right. I need to tell you and I should have told somebody a long time ago; I was scared about the end result." BB starts to say.

"What do you mean, Blaine?" Cheryl asks. BB tries his hardest not to go back to his defense mechanism of changing the subject or diverting eye contact. That strategy won't work this time. It was three adults against one teenager—a fight BB can't win.

"What I am about to say is hard, so I'm gonna try to say it as best as possible. Here it goes." BB says taking a breath and trying not to vomit. "Uncle Steve told you that my dad was arrested. He was arrested due to a call about a domestic disturbance…among other things." BB started saying.

"Domestic disturbance?" Mike asks as Steve nods his head. "What's been going on at that house of yours?"

"Mike…Cheryl…you have custody right now because DHS and the Tulsa Police Department are doing an investigation on him." BB starts to admit.

"Blaine, you can tell us anything." Cheryl says to comfort her nephew.

"They are investigating a possible case of a…ab…abuse." BB manages to say. Cheryl and Mike look at BB confused.

"Are you trying to say that…."Mike tries to ask before getting cut off by BB.

"Yes. I've been abused by my father." BB confesses as Mike and Cheryl look at him with wide eyes.

"Are you serious, Blaine? How long has my brother been doing this to you?" Mike asks putting a hand on BB's shoulder. At that point, Steve excused himself to give the family some privacy and to check up on Kaitlyn.

"About four years…about four months after the funeral was when it started." BB admitted.

"Why didn't you tell anybody that happened to you?" Cheryl asks as her heart going out to her nephew.

"I thought it was an accident. I thought it was him getting over emotional about everything." BB replies.

"Sorry, Blaine, but that is a bunch of bullshit. There is absolutely no excuse for hitting your child. No matter what the situation is at the house." Mike says getting angry thinking about his brother.

"I know. I should have known that sooner. Part of me believed that it would get better. For the most part, I thought it was my fault. I thought a lot of things were my fault. Like being hit or my mom getting…." BB said before being cut off by Mike.

"I'm stopping you right there. Nothing about this whole situation is your fault." Mike says as BB turns his head away. "Don't do that, damn it. What I'm telling you is true. I don't care if you don't believe me right now. Cheryl and I will tell you every day until you believe us. Nothing has been your fault." Mike says getting face to face with his nephew.

"Umm…thanks. You know, I never really talked to anybody like this…not even after the funeral. It feels kinda good." BB says with a small smile.

"You seriously never talked to anybody about anything?" Cheryl asks as BB nods in response. "Why haven't you talked to Steve or Chance or a counselor at school?"

"I didn't want to bring up the subject with anybody. I felt like it was better to just ignore it and hope everything would get better. Steve and the counselors at school tried, but I wouldn't talk. I was afraid that my dad would find out and the end result would be worse for me. I really couldn't talk to Chance because he always wanted to be left alone and we really didn't bring those subjects up when we did hang out or talk; all that was left was me." BB admitted has his voice breaks at the end.

"Let me get this straight. For four years, you have bottled up all emotions about everything and not done a damn thing about it?" Mike asks as BB nods his head. "How about when Anne Marie died?" BB shook his head no with tears starting to flow.

"It sucked and it hurt, but I stayed strong knowing that my mom wasn't in pain anymore. Plus, there was nobody to console to and it felt weird crying alone. I mean I did cry when I said goodbye to her at the funeral, but that was it." BB replied.

"You're a strong kid. Doing all this at twelve, but you don't have to been strong right now. You need to let everything out. You need to grieve. You deserve it." Cheryl said sympathetically as Mike nods in agreement. At that moment, BB decides to agree with them and stop ignoring the pain that has been building up by walking into the open arms of his uncle and completely breaking down crying in his hug.

"I miss her." BB manages to say through the crying.

"I know you do. We all do. Everything will be fine now, Blaine. We are happy to have you here with us." Mike says as BB continues crying.

* * *

" _Katie, I think you're looking too much into this. How long has it been since they've seen him?"_

"It's been about a year. I'm not mad, AJ, it's just weird that my parents want to talk to Blaine without me there." Kaitlyn answers as she sits on her bed talking to her friend AJ Lee.

" _Maybe it's something personal. If Blaine and you are as close as you say you two are, then you will find out eventually anyways."_ AJ replies. Kaitlyn thinks about it for a second as she hears a knock at the door.

"I've gotta go. I'll talk to you later." Kaitlyn says as she hangs up her phone and Steve enters her room.

"How's it going, Katie?" Steve asks as Kaitlyn shrugs.

"I'm fine. I just wonder what the big deal is with my parents and Blaine. I can handle it." Kaitlyn replies.

"It's not that you can handle it, it's that Blaine can't right now. That last week kind of turned his life upside down." Steve says.

"What do you mean?" Kaitlyn asks.

"Let me show you." Steve answers grabbing Kaitlyn's hand and walking her to the top of the staircase where they hear Blaine crying.

"What's wrong with Blaine?" Kaitlyn asks worrying about her cousin.

"You will have to ask Blaine or your parents to find out why Blaine is here, but right now Blaine is letting go of four years of built up pain and emotion." Steve says. Kaitlyn continues to look downstairs and wondering what exactly is going on with her cousin.

* * *

 **As much as I would like to keep this chapter going, I found a good place to stop. Hopefully you guys like the chapter. As I said, there were a few changes (some big and some minor) from FTGU that I made that I feel made the story flow a little better.**

 **For example:**

 **BB's older brother Colby from FTGU is now Chance. BB's father's name changed from Jeremy to Johnny and that he is now Mike's brother and not Cheryl's like in FTGU (among a few others).**

 **With this chapter, I pretty much summed up to about Chapter 4 or 5 in FTGU.**

 **Hopefully you guys liked the first chapter in It's For the Best. Feel free to leave a review and tell me what you guys liked, didn't like, or what changes you see in the story.**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	2. Bonin Bond

**Hello, readers of FanFiction. I'm back with another chapter of For the Best. This chapter continues BB's story, but this chapter also has the primary focus of presenting BB and Kaitlyn's relationship. I'm not sure how well I did in showing their relationship in From the Ground Up, but hopefully I did a better job here. Enough of me rambling...here is Chapter 2.**

 **Enjoy Reading!**

* * *

Chapter 2

Hours later, Steve said his goodbyes to everybody and went back to Tulsa. BB had finally calmed down and was now waking up from a nap in the guest…his…bedroom. BB got out of bed and walked to the mirror above the dresser and cringed at the sight in the mirror. His hair and ponytail were all over the place, so he pulled the rubber band out of his hair and tried to smooth it down as best as he can without a brush.

After a moment of trying to make himself more presentable, BB decided it was time to change the bandages around his ribs. BB found his bags next to the bed and grabbed them off the floor with a small groan of pain. He found the bandages in his bag after he removed his shirt and threw that on the bed. Still in pain, he removes the old bandages as careful as possible and throws them in the trash. After taking the bandages off, BB looks at his rib and stomach area and notices the bruising. Unfortunately at the same time, somebody else noticed too.

"Hey, I heard noise in hear and figured you were awake so I was wondering if…what the FUCK!" Kaitlyn says as she walks into the bedroom and notices the bruises on BB's back.

"What?" BB asks as he turns around to face his cousin. Kaitlyn's eyes get wider when she sees the bruises in the front are worse than the ones on the back.

"What the hell happened to you? Did the people you get in a fight with beat you that badly?" Kaitlyn asks in complete shock.

"Believe me. They look worse than they feel." BB answers as he starts wrapping new bandages around his ribs and unfortunately cringing in pain.

"Bullshit. You have got to be hurting. Let me help you." Kaitlyn says as she helps BB finish wrapping his ribs.

"Alright. Maybe it does hurt a bit, but the worst has passed. Nothing you need to worry about." BB remarks as he grabs a new shirt from his bag and puts it on.

"I'm done playing around. Something must be going on if Uncle Steve had to bring you down to Houston HIMSELF and explain to mom and dad why you're here." Kaitlyn says getting agitated at her cousin.

"Katie, it's not a big deal and I don't want to talk about it so lay off." BB replies getting equally mad.

"NO I WILL NOT LAY OFF! I thought you trusted me enough to tell me what's going on!" Kaitlyn yelled.

"That isn't fair! I do trust you! This isn't something you can just go around and say. I mean it took me years to own up to it." BB says.

"What is so hard to say to me that I had to get thrown out of the living room?" Kaitlyn asks, her voice a mix of anger and sadness. After that, BB had enough of the interrogation.

"DAMNIT KAITLYN! YOU TRY GETTING ABUSED BY YOUR DAD FOR FOUR YEARS AND SEE HOW EASY IT IS TO TALK TO PEOPLE YOU LOVE ABOUT IT!" BB screams at Kaitlyn before both of teenagers' eyes go wide—Kaitlyn because of what she heard and BB because of what he accidently blurted out.

"What?" Kaitlyn manages to say after a moment of silence.

"Oh my god. Never mind. I don't wanna talk about it." BB says sitting on the bed, as far away from Kaitlyn as possible. Kaitlyn never intended for the argument to go this far, so she sits next to BB and wraps an arm around his shoulders.

"Abused? Blaine I'm so sorry. I didn't know it was that bad." Kaitlyn says trying to console her cousin.

"It's not your fault. If I would have spoken up earlier to somebody, none of this would be happening." BB said with his eyes starting to water again.

"That isn't your fault…." Was all Kaitlyn manages to say before BB starts crying again as she grabs her cousin in a hug. Kaitlyn knows not to press the situation anymore and BB will talk about it in due time. After a couple of minutes, BB has calmed down and grabs a Kleenex to blow his nose.

"Sorry about that." BB says. Kaitlyn grabs him in another quick hug.

"Don't worry about it. It's my fault for being nosey. Anyways, forget about the sad shit for now. We're glad you're here." Kaitlyn replies trying to cheer her cousin up.

" _Forget the sad shit? Easier said than done."_ BB thought before cracking a small smile. "I'm kind of glad I'm here too."

"So, little cousin, did you remember to bring the good stuff?" Kaitlyn asks. BB cracks an even bigger smile when he realizes what Kaitlyn meant. BB reaches into his bag and pulls out a deck of cards, a bag of plastic spoons, and a small stuffed dog.

"Regarding the circumstances, I wouldn't let Uncle Steve bring me to Houston against my will unless I got to buy a bag of spoons. I mean I have to defend my trophy by beating you in a game of Spoons." BB answers as he laughs for the first time in a long time. Since they were seven, BB and Kaitlyn competitively played Spoons against each other whenever they were together. It got so heated that Kaitlyn used one of her old stuff dogs as a trophy for being the winner—a trophy that BB has held on to for two years.

"Sure, Blaine, whatever you want to believe." Kaitlyn says rolling her eyes. "By the way, I see you still haven't cut your hair."

"Not at all. I see you decided to change your hair up a bit." BB says grabbing a strand of the blonde section of Kaitlyn's hair.

"Yep. It looks like we won't be hair twins anymore. Besides, it's a style now." Kaitlyn replies showing BB the dark hair under the blonde.

"Leave it to you to be on the knowhow of what is and isn't stylish." BB says grabbing the deck of cards. "So, dear cousin, are you ready to lose again?"

"Yeah right. I'm ready to win. Game on!" Kaitlyn exclaims as BB deals the cards.

* * *

Hours later, Kaitlyn and BB come downstairs after hearing Cheryl call for dinner. The first thing that Mike and Cheryl notice is the smile on BB's face.

"Blaine, you seem to be much happier." Cheryl says. BB looks over and nods slightly.

"Yeah I do feel a little better. Thanks for letting me stay with you guys." BB replies grabbing a plate and sitting at the table. _"Still scared, but still doing a little better."_ BB thought as he started eating.

"You're welcome to stay here anytime, Blaine." Mike says patting his nephew's shoulder.

"By the way, we just got a message from Steve. The Tulsa school district is sending your transcripts and scores over this week." Cheryl says.

"Over? Over where?" BB asks confused.

"Blaine, starting in August you will be finishing high school here in Houston. What do you think about that?" Cheryl replies to which BB almost spits out his water.

"August?! That is a month away. Am I really gonna be down here that long—not that it's a bad thing—it's just I thought I would be here a couple of weeks and back I'd go to Tulsa." BB says trying to find the right words.

"Blaine, I know this is all kind of sudden; who knows how long this thing with your father is going to be. It's better safe than sorry. Are you alright with all this?" Mike asks sensing BB's uneasiness.

"I mean it's a shock and I'm not exactly thrilled with everything going on, but…it's better to be safe. Give me some time and I will get used to it." BB admits as he gets up from the table. "I'm tired. I'm gonna go ahead and go to sleep."

"No problem. Good night, Blaine." Cheryl says as Blaine leaves the kitchen and goes back upstairs.

"What is Blaine's problem? I thought Blaine would be excited to stay down here. I mean he would get to stay away from dad and he wouldn't get abused. Problem solved." Kaitlyn says as her parents look at her shocked.

"How the hell did you find out about that?" Mike asks.

"He told me." Kaitlyn replies as Mike glares at her. "Wait! I didn't force him. It slipped and he didn't mean to tell me.

"Kaitlyn, this isn't as easy for him as you are making it out. He's still nervous and scared. This isn't something that just happened a week ago. This is the breaking point of four years of this. It's going to take some time for him to get fully adjusted without having the fear of somebody looming." Cheryl explains as Kaitlyn.

"I understand now. I'm gonna go see if Blaine's alright." Kaitlyn replies getting up from the table.

Moments later, Kaitlyn walks into BB's room and finds him laying on the bed staring at the ceiling.

* * *

"Are you ok?" Kaitlyn asks as BB turns over to look at her.

"I'm ok. Just thinking about everything." BB replies.

"Blaine, I mean are you really going to be ok. I'm just worried about you. Sure, you're happy and smiling now; it isn't the same." Kaitlyn says.

"What do you mean?" BB asks in return.

"I mean you used to be the happiest guy I knew. Nothing seemed to make you mad. It seems like this whole thing with your dad has taken most of that away. I just don't want this to ruin your whole life." Kaitlyn replies, her voice breaking slightly. BB got off the bed and motioned for Kaitlyn to come over. When she did, BB wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug.

Even though he's scared to death about this whole situation will turn out, whenever he's with his cousin, he always seems to be at peace. Even when they were little, BB and Kaitlyn were extremely close especially since they always protected each other—they acted more like brother and sister rather than cousins.

"Katie, don't worry about me. I'm nervous and it sucks right now, but I'm not going to let this ruin my entire life." BB said reassuringly, trying to convince Kaitlyn…and himself at the same time.

"Leave it to you to be looking on the bright side whenever things suck. Blaine, promise me that the next time something like this happens, don't leave me out of the loop for four years." Kaitlyn says laughing. BB responds with a smile.

"I'll try. I promise. Katie…I love you. Thanks for being there for me." BB says sincerely. Kaitlyn knew that her cousin loved her, but his partner in crime deserved to hear it because she was always his strength—someone to look to whenever he needed it.

"I love you too, Blaine. I want you to be happy." Kaitlyn replies giving her cousin a kiss on the cheek as they continue hugging.

* * *

A couple of days later, BB was sitting on the couch watching TV as Kaitlyn came down to the living room in gym shorts and a tank top.

"Where are you off to dressed like that?" BB asked when Kaitlyn sat down to tie her shoes.

"The opera, shithead! No, me and a friend are going to the gym. Gotta get back into shape." Kaitlyn says finishing tying her shoes and walking into the kitchen.

"Where did your shape go? You are always training or working out so it probably took a week's vacation because it was tired. And which friend? Is it the one that likes comic books and skips everywhere?" BB asks yelling to the kitchen.

"First, not funny. Second, no it isn't AJ. You will probably meet them soon enough. Should be here anytime." Kaitlyn says as she runs back upstairs to grab her gym bag. BB rolls his eyes and goes back to the living room. Before he reaches the couch, the doorbell rings. BB opens the door to see a guy with two-toned hair like Kaitlyn, but not like Kaitlyn—more side by side than over-under.

"Can I help you with something?" BB asks.

"I'm here to pick up Kaitlyn." The guy answers as BB nods.

"Katie! There's a guy who wants his money back for a horrible dye job! He's here to pick you up." BB yells upstairs to Kaitlyn which garners a glare from the guy. "Sorry. I was just kidding." BB answers when he turns and sees the glare.

"It's all good. I wanted it this way. I'm Seth by the way. Seth Rollins." Seth answers stick out his hand to which BB responds with a handshake.

"I'm Blaine. Kaitlyn's cousin. It's nice to meet you." Blaine replies as Kaitlyn walks downstairs.

"I see you two met. Come on, Seth, let's go." Kaitlyn says following Seth out the door.

"It was nice meeting you, Blaine." Seth says as he walks to his car.

"Nice meeting you too, Seth. Bye Katie." BB says waving to Kaitlyn and closing the door. _"Hmm…Wonder why Katie is in such a rush for? Oh well."_ BB thought going back to the living room to watch TV.

* * *

Hours later, Mike came home early from work and offered to take BB to a local comic book shop—to which BB agreed thinking it would be a good time to go out and see the town he might be living in for a while. So what place better than a comic book shop? BB was walking around, flipping through a random comic book, whenever a voice crashed into somebody.

"Oh my god. I'm sorry. I need to watch where I'm going." BB says handing the other guy his comic book back.

"It's cool. I've done that a few times. You must be new around here. I'm Evan Bourne by the way." Evan says shaking BB's hand.

"Blaine Bonin. Some people call me BB. Nice to meet you. How can you tell that I'm new?" BB asks Evan.

"Easy. Most customers around this store are regulars, so I notice pretty quickly whenever a new guys walks in. Second, you can tell whoever a new customer is whenever they walk into somebody reading a comic book." Evan replies laughing.

"Pretty obvious huh? It's a bad habit and I didn't mean to crash into you." BB says apologetically.

"It's happened to me many times. Dad says it's a sure sign that somebody will buy something." Evan says.

"Buy something? Is he a businessman?" BB asks. Evan laughs and shakes his head.

"Kind of. He kinda owns this place. _Bourne to Fly Comics_ is the name of this place." Evan says as BB looks up at the register where a sign with the name of the store is located. "Quick question, BB. You're last name is Bonin, right?" Evan asks as BB nods his head. "Any relation to Kaitlyn Bonin?"

"Yep. She's my cousin. How do you know her?" BB asks Evan.

"We talk sometimes and we go to school together. I see her in here with AJ or her boyfriend, Seth." Evan answers. _"Boyfriend. That figures."_ BB thought.

"Anyways, welcome to Houston and hopefully you enjoy it here. By the way, you should come back by the store Friday night. My parents let me have a bunch of friends over and we pretty much eat pizza, watch movies, and hang out for most of the night. What do you think?" Evan asks.

"It sounds like…fun. I'll see you Friday." BB answers as Evan slaps BB on the back. BB's eyes grow wide with a mix of shock and pain as he tries to hold in a scream.

"You know what, BB. I think this is the makings of a beautiful friendship. Don't you think?" Evan asks. BB thinks about it for a moment. _"Evan does seem pretty cool. I mean we could easily be best friends if things come down to it. And it's much better go out and actually do stuff than sit around at home thinking about the past and the future."_ BB thought before looking at Evan and nodding.

"I think so too." BB replies as they continue talking.

* * *

BB is sitting in the living room, flipping through an old photo album as Kaitlyn walks into the room with Seth.

"Did you enjoy sitting around doing nothing all day, lazy?" Kaitlyn asks sitting next to BB.

"Actually, I went out and found this really cool comic book store and brought back a decent haul. How was hanging out with your boyfriend all day?" BB asks as Kaitlyn looks at him confused.

"How did you find out? Oh wait. Evan Bourne told you. It was only a matter of time. His parents own probably the coolest comic book store in town and you two are alike. Happy all the time and full of energy." Kaitlyn says with a mix of annoyance and amusement.

"Very cute. Anyways I'm going upstairs. I'll see you la…." BB says starting to walk up the stairs before being cut off.

"Blaine, wait. I need to ask you something." Seth says calling out to BB who looks at Seth wondering what in the world would he want with him.

"Uhh…sure." BB says walking back down the stairs.

"I need to run to my room and get something. I'll be right back." Kaitlyn says running upstairs.

"Ok. What do you want to ask me?" BB asks Seth.

"Nothing really. It's more like I want to get to know you." Seth replies. "So how long have you know about us being a couple?"

"I've had my assumption for about six hours and known officially for three. Why do you want to know about me?" BB asks getting annoyed.

"Well, I feel that since I'm dating Kaitlyn, I need to get know the person she hasn't shut up about the past week. She's told me a lot about you." Seth says as BB gets a little nervous. _"If she said what I think she said…I'm going to kill her."_ BB thought wondering if Kaitlyn told Seth about his dad.

"Like what?" BB asks.

"Well that you two were like twins when you were younger. How you two were always together. How your social skills are in the toilet because you lost your mother." Seth says as BB gets mad. "Don't get mad. She also said how much she's missed seeing you the last couple years. I'm not sure if she's told you that."

"You're right. She hasn't. Quick question. Why are you telling me all this?" BB asks.

"Honestly, in most cases if I dated a girl, I wouldn't give two shits about the sibling much less the cousin. Truth of the matter is that after what Kaitlyn told me about you is that you seem pretty cool and we can be good friends." Seth admits to BB who gives him a look telling him that he really isn't buying it. "Not cutting it? What I said is the truth, but overall she says that you two are a package deal. Date her and befriend you. Kaitlyn sees you like so much more than a cousin. She sees you like a brother."

"So…in a sense you are trying to get my blessing, right?" BB asks and Seth nods. "Let me go ahead and tell you this up front. After meeting you, I think you are pretty cool. I have nothing against you. So more power to you for dating Katie. Just remember that if you hurt her, you have someone to answer to."

"You?" Seth asks.

"No. Uncle Mike. Did he show you the shotgun with his name engraved on it?" BB asks Seth.

"That was the first thing he showed me when I met him." Seth admits as both guys start laughing.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, BB walks into Kaitlyn's bedroom with the photo album from earlier.

"So what did you talk to Seth about?" Kaitlyn asked.

"We talked about random stuff. He also said he would like us to be friends. He also said how much you missed me and that you and we were like a package deal." BB answered which caught Kaitlyn by surprise.

"He did, did he?" Kaitlyn asked raising an eyebrow.

"He did, and I think that is the most awesome thing someone has done for me." BB says sitting next to Kaitlyn and giving her a hug.

"That was a deal breaker for me. I had to tell Seth that regardless of how close we got that he couldn't break up the Dynamic Duo." Kaitlyn says.

"I guess that means we are the Three Musketeers I guess?" BB asks laughing.

"Something like that. Nobody can replace you, Blaine." Kaitlyn answers. "So what are you looking at?"

"One of your old photo albums and I just happened to find this picture." BB says pointing to a picture of him and Kaitlyn eating ice cream cones on a park bench. "Do you remember this?"

"Hell yes! I remember this day perfectly. We were seven or eight years old. It ended well, but it started out crappy. We were just playing in the sandbox." Kaitlyn said.

"Minding our own business before Wade Barrett and Cody Rhodes started picking on us." BB replied.

"Actually, Wade did most of the work. Cody just stood back and laughed." Kaitlyn said.

"Because he had a crush on you." BB answered as he and Kaitlyn start laughing harder remembering that day.

 **FLASHBACK**

 _ **BB and Kaitlyn were sitting in the sandbox at the park, working on the walls of a sand castle, when Wade Barrett decided to kick and destroy the sandcastle.**_

" _ **HEY!" Both BB and Kaitlyn scream.**_

" _ **What? Did I kill your little castle?" Wade asks as him and his friend Cody Rhodes start laughing.**_

" _ **Why don't you leave us alone?" BB says getting in Wade's face.**_

" _ **Make me." Wade says as he shoves BB face first into the steps of the slide and he holds his face. BB takes a step back from the slide and Kaitlyn sees that BB has a bloody nose.**_

" _ **Say you're sorry, Wade." Kaitlyn screams at Wade. Wade responds by laughing.**_

" _ **NO!" Wade screams back.**_

" _ **DO IT!"**_

" _ **NO!"**_

 _ **After yelling back at Kaitlyn, Wade pushes Kaitlyn out of the sandbox and she stumbles onto the sidewalk. As she falls, she scrapes her knees and starts to sniffle.**_

" _ **Look, Cody, Katie's about to cry." Wade says wailing with laughter and Cody joins him.**_

" _ **Be nice to her!" BB yells jumping onto Wade's back.**_

" _ **HEY! Get off of me." Wade says spinning around trying to get BB to fall off his back.**_

" _ **Leave him alone!" Kaitlyn says running full force and spearing Wade down to the ground as both cousins start wailing away at Wade. Cody runs as fast as possible to get Wade's mom as both Kaitlyn and BB's mothers run over and get the cousins off of Wade.**_

 _ **END FLASHBACK**_

"Do you remember what happened we got pulled off of Wade?" Kaitlyn asks in between laughs.

"Do I? Wade's mom came over and said we started the fight." BB answers.

"I've never heard our moms yell so loud before in our lives." Kaitlyn says.

"Even the words that my mom used. Who knew my mom could talk like a sailor." BB says.

"She told us on the car ride home that we couldn't use those words until we graduated high school." Kaitlyn replied.

"Looks like we didn't make it." BB says laughing.

"After Wade's mom ran off, our moms made us tell the truth about what happened." Kaitlyn says wiping the tears of laughter from her face.

"Then they said that since we stood up for each other that we deserved a reward; that's how we got the ice cream." BB says lying back on Kaitlyn's bed.

"That night, we made a promise to each other that we would always stand up for each other and be friends no matter what." Kaitlyn says lying back as well.

"And that promise is still as strong as it was the first day we made it." BB says.

"Do you know what I just realized?" Kaitlyn asks and BB shakes his head no. "That this is the first conversation we had that included your mother that you didn't start crying after."

"I…I guess so." BB answers with a sad smile. Kaitlyn rolls over and gives her cousin a hug.

"She would be proud of you. I know it." Kaitlyn says.

"I know it, too. Kaitlyn, I'm glad we're still the dynamic duo. I don't know what I would do without you." BB replies.

"Aww. I've had enough fun remembering the past. The talk about ice cream made me want to raid the freezer. Come on!" Kaitlyn says as they run downstairs to the kitchen.

* * *

Meanwhile, Mike is on the phone with Steve; the conversation doesn't look good.

"How long do we have?" Mike asks.

" _Honestly. I don't know. I'm sorry that I didn't call sooner."_ Steve says.

"It's not your fault. You didn't find out anything until you got back. I'm more worried about Blaine." Mike says.

" _I am too. We just have to keep an eye out for anything suspicious."_ Steve replies.

"So do I not let him out of the house or something?" Mike asks.

" _Don't be stupid. He can leave. He just needs to always be with somebody. Like you, Cheryl, or Kaitlyn."_ Steve answers.

At that moment, BB and Kaitlyn come down the stairs.

"I see what you mean. Hey, I will call you back later. OK? Bye." Mike says quickly hanging up the phone.

"No need to hang up the phone because we came downstairs. What was that call all about?" Kaitlyn asks grabbing ice cream sandwiches for her and BB.

"Just one of the guys I work with. It wasn't a very important conversation. Any plans this weekend?" Mike asks the teens.

"Nothing major. We were invited to Evan Bourne's place to hang out with friends and we thought we would go." Kaitlyn answers.

"Sounds like fun. Just don't stay out too late Friday." Mike answers. _"Oh shit."_ He thought. The teens laugh and head back upstairs as Cheryl walks into the kitchen.

"Was that who I thought it was on the phone?" Cheryl asks.

"Yep." Mike answers.

"I'm guessing that it wasn't good news?" Cheryl asks this time.

"The worst possible news." Mike answers back.

"You know you're gonna have to tell him eventually." Cheryl tells Mike.

"I know, but I just don't want him to live in fear anymore." Mike says.

"If you don't, the consequences could be much worse." Cheryl says.

After thinking about what to do for a moment, Mike decides what needs to be done…regardless.

"I'll tell him Saturday morning. I promise." Mike says as Cheryl kisses him.

"Look. I know you're thinking that if you tell Blaine that he will lose all the progress that he's made in the short week since coming down here. In the long run, it's for the best. We can't keep things from him like that." Cheryl says reassuring him as she goes upstairs.

Mike sits at the kitchen table a little while longer, contemplating how to break such bad news to a kid who's starting to remember the brighter side of life.

" _Lord…give me the strength I need."_ Mike thought as he heads upstairs.

* * *

 **Nothing like having a strong bond like that bond BB and Kaitlyn have.**

 **I wonder what the news is? You guys probably already know, but it's fun to build up the suspense.**

 **Anyways, that is Chapter 2. It was hard to find a good stopping place for this chapter without going too far into Chapter 3's plans, so I decided to stop here. Sorry if the stop was a little awkward. We got the introduction of Kaitlyn's boyfriend Seth Rollins and BB's new friend Evan Bourne with a little bit of progression of the story. Next chapter we find out (or verify what you already know) what is the bad news? How will BB react?**

 **You will find out next chapter. As always leave a review about what you thought and see you next chapter!**


	3. Is the Dream Over?

**I'm back! Sorry it took so long to get this out, but having writer's block really SUCKS. Anyways, over the past two months I somehow came up with a way to continue this story. I didn't want to do this story the exact same as From the Ground Up; I had to throw a couple of twists and turns in there to keep interest. Hopefully you all enjoy this chapter that is a combination late Merry Christmas and Happy New Year gift.**

* * *

Friday had finally arrived and Kaitlyn was in the bathroom getting ready to go to Evan Bourne's house to hang out with a bunch of friends, watch movies, and do who knows what else. After finishing in the bathroom, Kaitlyn knocks on BB's door to see if he is ready to go.

"BLAINE! ARE YOU READY YET?" Kaitlyn yells while banging on the door.

"I'm not sure if I want to go now." BB says on the other side of the door.

"NOT GO!" Kaitlyn yells as she storms into BB's room. "What in the hell do you mean that you don't want to go now?"

"Well…I mean there are going to be a lot of people I don't know, and what if they don't like me. What about…." BB says before Kaitlyn cuts him off.

"Come on, Blaine. You'll have me and Seth there. Hell, Evan INVITED you so he must like you. What are you so worried about? It's just a fun night of friends watching movies and eating pizza until we pass out." Kaitlyn replies.

"You know how I do with a group of new people. I'm not exactly the most sociable person out there." BB says.

"OH Bull…." Kaitlyn says before stopping herself. _"Hold on a sec. I can't just fly off the handle and yell at him. That might lead him to locking himself in the room for two days._ " Kaitlyn thought before trying a different strategy.

"Blaine, it'll be fun. Who knows? You might have fun. So stop worrying and come have a good time with a bunch of weirdoes and eat a bunch of pizza. What do you say?" Kaitlyn asks. BB thinks about it for a second before giving his answer.

"You're right. I need to get out of my head. It does sound like a blast." BB replies as Kaitlyn yanks his arm to try to get him off the bed.

"Glad you came to your senses. Come on and get ready. Seth will be here anytime." Kaitlyn says as she leaves and BB gets ready.

Ten minutes later, Seth has arrived as BB and Kaitlyn head downstairs. Mike stops the cousins before they walk out the door.

"Hey you two. Make sure you both are home before midnight." Mike says as Kaitlyn rolls her eyes.

"Yes, dad." Kaitlyn replies as they walk out the door, but before Kaitlyn leaves, Mike grabs her arm. She tells BB to go on ahead and she will be there in a second.

"Kaitlyn, keep a close eye on Blaine tonight, ok?" Mike asks.

"Duh, dad, but why are you so worried about Blaine? Sure he's shy, but I'll work on that; Evan's house isn't in a bad part of town or anything so we aren't gonna get mugged getting out of the car." Kaitlyn replies wondering why her dad is being paranoid.

"Just promise, please?" Mike asks.

"Yes, dad. We will be home before curfew. See you later." Kaitlyn replies as she walks out the door.

" _God I wonder what has Dad so worried. It's probably because it's Blaine's first time out in Houston."_ Kaitlyn thought as she got into Seth's car.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, the three teens arrive at Evan's house—which wasn't hard to find because the logo for their comic book shop is also on the front porch. Seth finds a spot to park—in between the other vehicles that are parked there—and they walk into Evan's house.

The party looks to have already started with music playing and BB could hear people yelling in a room.

"Looks like they're already in the basement. This way, Blaine." Kaitlyn says motioning to a staircase leading to Evan's basement. When they reach the basement, the trio are met with hollers and cheers.

"About time you guys made it. Pizza will be here shortly." Evan yells from across the room. "Blaine! I'm glad that you came along. Kaitlyn, you can take care of introductions, will you?" Evan asks running upstairs as Kaitlyn nods.

"Fine fine. Alright let's start with the two crowding the couch. You already know who AJ is, but the guy sitting next to her wearing the tattoo gallery is her boyfriend Phil—but he prefers everybody to call him Punk." Kaitlyn says motioning to the couple on the couch.

"Sup?" Punk says looking over at BB and throwing up a hand.

"Sup?" BB replies throwing up a hand as well. Meanwhile, AJ skips over to BB and puts him in a big hug.

"BB! It has been so long since I've seen you. Do you remember me?" AJ asks not letting BB go. BB doesn't have a clue who this clingy girl is until he looks down at her Harley Quinn necklace.

"Wait a second! I remember you! I was seven and you were the girl who tried to dye my hair green so I could be the Joker with your Harley Quinn costume." BB said trying to shake AJ off.

"You do remember me! Aww…that was such a fun time." AJ replied.

"No it wasn't. You had Kaitlyn hold me down while you tried to color my hair…with PAINT! The green didn't come out fully for almost a month. I looked like a faded Brussel sprout." BB said glaring at AJ.

"It came out didn't it? Oh well that was like nine years ago. Anyways, it's good to see you." AJ said patting BB on the back. Kaitlyn rolls her eyes and points to a sad looking guy sitting in the corner of the room.

"Alright that guy sitting over there with the bleach blonde hair is Dolph Ziggler. Wait why is Dolph looking like a lost puppy?" Kaitlyn asks.

"You didn't hear?" AJ asked as Kaitlyn shook her head no. "He just broke up with his girlfriend tonight."

"Oh, Dolph, I'm sorry to hear that you and Lana broke up." Kaitlyn says walking over to Dolph and giving him a pat on the shoulder.

"Don't be…I'm not. I mean yeah it sucks because I really liked her. If she wants to go back to Rusev and his Bulgarian brutish ways, then that is her loss." Dolph said with a solemn look on his face.

"Come on, Dolph, don't think too much about her. Today is supposed to be fun. Come over and meet my cousin, Blaine." Kaitlyn says escorting Dolph to BB. Dolph walks over and shakes BB's hand.

"Nice to meet you." BB says.

"Same here." Dolph says with a small smirk before walking to the couch. Kaitlyn walks over to BB and pats him on the back.

"Don't worry about Dolph. It hasn't been a good week for him. He'll bounce back. He usually does." Kaitlyn whispers in BB's ear. "Come on, time for you to meet the last person here." Kaitlyn says walking BB to a guy playing darts. The guy was wearing a shirt with a wolf on the front.

"Justin, come here for a second." Kaitlyn says as Justin puts down the darts and walks toward the cousins. "Justin Gabriel this is my cousin, Blaine."

"Glad to finally meet the Blaine that Kaitlyn has talked about." Justin says shaking BB's hand.

"It's nice to meet you, too." BB replies.

"Alright. Enough with the formalities. The pizza's here and we have movies to get through." Evan says walking down to the basement with four pizza boxes in his hand. "We have sausage, pepperoni, triple cheese, and supreme. What should we start with tonight? Raunchy comedy of _Neighbors_ or intergalactic action of _Guardians of the Galaxy_?" Evan asks sitting the pizzas down and everybody comes around and starts getting slices to eat.

"I don't know about you, Evan, but I think that the new kid should decide what the movie is." Punk said smirking over at BB.

"Sounds like a plan to me. Alright, BB, what's your pick?" Evan asks showing BB the DVDs. As much as BB wanted to stall and make the best decision that would not piss the most people off, but one of the movies stood out from the get go.

"I mean since Guardians of the Galaxy is a Marvel movie, I bet it's really good, right?" BB suggests. Evan cheers and slaps BB on the back again.

"Yes! He is going to join us just fine. Which nerdy guy WOULDN'T pick Guardians first? Come on, let's start the movie." Evan said putting the movie in the DVD player as everybody started sitting down.

* * *

Three hours later, after finishing the movie and playing a couple games of Cards Against Humanity, the party ended and everybody was heading home.

"Did you have fun, Blaine?" Kaitlyn asks to her cousin in the backseat who was starting to doze off.

"Huh? Did I have fun? Yeah I did. It was pretty entertaining." BB replied waking back up.

"Most nights with them are entertaining to say the least. Wait until we have a movie or video game binge night. Then you'll see entertaining." Seth says.

"Sounds like a blast. I can't wait until the next party." BB says staring out the window looking up at the stars.

Kaitlyn nods and looks at Seth who smiles at her. _"I'm just glad you're having fun. I don't want this to end for you."_ Kaitlyn thought looking up the stars with her cousin.

Ten minutes later, Seth drops Kaitlyn and BB off at their house and they start talking about something that happened at the party.

"I don't understand why Dolph thought what Evan said was funny. It sounded like a cheesy pun to me." Kaitlyn says rolling her eyes.

"But that didn't stop you from cracking up whenever the Coke came out of his nose. It must've been hil…what are you doing here?" BB asks looking at a person who didn't expected to see at all. Uncle Steve

"Kaitlyn. Blaine. How are you guys doing?" Steve asks the teens.

"We're good, but what are you doing here so late? You just left a couple weeks ago. Aren't you going to get fired for missing so much work?" Kaitlyn asks.

"Not this time. I'm here on business this time around. Blaine, do you mind if we talk somewhere in private?" Steve asks BB. BB looks at Kaitlyn who nods to him and walks upstairs.

"Ok. We're in private. What do you need to talk about?" BB asks Steve cautiously.

"Blaine, what I am about to say to you is not good. You need to try to control yourself and not go crazy. Do you understand?" Steve asks. Blaine realizes he doesn't have much of a choice, so he nods the affirmative.

"Blaine…Mike and Cheryl have finished with their temporary custody of you as of midnight tomorrow." Steve reluctantly tells Blaine.

"Why? Did the court decide I need in a boy's home or something? I don't understand." BB asks trying to make sense of everything.

"Blaine, it's not what they did. Your aunt and uncle were happy to have you living with them, but your father is out of jail and he's coming to pick you up." Steve admits and BB's eyes grow wide.

"Out? Picking me up? When is he going to be here?" BB asks struggling to ask the question.

"…tomorrow." Steve says. At that point, BB has had enough.

"TOMORROW! What do you mean tomorrow? How did he get out?" BB asks in an almost panic.

"Blaine, we held him in jail for three days trying to find evidence that would we could charge him on, but we couldn't find any." Steve says.

"You couldn't find ANY?! Do my x-rays and my trip to the hospital not mean shit? Come on, the guy beat the hell out of me. Isn't that admiss…?" BB starts to ask, but then he catches on to something important he almost missed.

"You said you held my dad in jail for three days, right?" BB asks Steve, who nods. "I've been almost three weeks. That means that my dad has been release for over two weeks. How is it that he chooses now to come down here?" BB asks carefully.

"I was trying to stall him as long as I could to prevent him from coming down here until me and Mike figured out a plan." Steve says to BB, who glares at Mike—who realizes what is about to happen.

"You KNEW?" BB asks Mike who could only nod. "You mean you BOTH knew for two weeks and didn't bother to tell me ANYTHING? Mike, why didn't you tell me?"

"Blaine, I wanted to tell you. Believe me, I did. I just couldn't find the right time or way to tell you." Mike says with remorse.

"Yeah because finding out this way is so much better. Mike, I trusted you. Why is this happening? I thought I was free from this shit, but I guess I am wrong there, too. Were MY feelings or opinion considered?" BB asks angrily and getting into Mike's face.

"Blaine, they were considered. Me and Cheryl fought our asses off to keep you here." Mike replies.

"Bullshit! If you did, then I wouldn't be going back to him, would I? You wouldn't have lied to me, would you? I don't believe you…you bastard!" BB screams and starts to swing at Mike, who is trying to best to calm his nephew down.

"You should have fought harder. You should have fought harder, Mike. I don't want to go. Please don't make me go. Please?" BB says as his voice breaks and he starts swinging slower as his emotions go from anger to complete sadness and desperation as he starting breaking down and crying.

Mike catches his nephew in a hug as they both fall to their knees. Mike sees how much pain his nephew is in; he couldn't help shed a few tears of his own. Cheryl and Steve stand in silence knowing that there wasn't much they could do right now except let the teen come to terms of the news in his own way.

* * *

 **Here is the end of Chapter 3. As you read, I brought in Justin Gabriel, Dolph Ziggler, AJ Lee, and CM Punk into the story. To the guest who reviewed and wanted the Punk/Lee couple...you got it (haha). Anyways, I wanted to keep going with this chapter, but I've kept this chapter away from you long enough and this was also a good place to set up the next chapter. If it seems like I keep putting BB in really crappy situations, it isn't my intentions at all; sometimes you have to knock a character to their lowest of lows to make the good moments to happen to them mean so much more. Believe me when I say that BB will have really good moments coming his way throughout the story.**

 **Thanks again to everybody who read this chapter and stay tuned for Chapter 4.**


	4. Turning Over a New Leaf?

Chapter 4

 **I'm back! Chapter 4 is finally here with very many bumps in the road to get this done. You guys are probably tired of me apologizing, but sometimes life gets in the way and my writing time gets very VERY limited. I also went through a bit of writer's block for this chapter because I didn't know how to successfully connect the first part of the story to the next upcoming part. Hopefully you guys like what the result is. With PLENTY of enough delay...let's continue It's For the Best.**

* * *

After finding out about his father's arrival, the night did not get any easier for BB. BB didn't sleep very much through the night because every time he tried to rest, he kept thinking about his dad. The next morning, BB awoke by the sunshine coming through his window. BB looked at the clock, groaned, and put the pillow over his face.

" _Ugh…Dammit. My dad isn't even in the same county right now and I'm already having restless nights. I don't think kids my age should be worrying about shit like that. Oh well. He's coming today to get me and there's nothing I can do about it. Might as well get up and face the music."_ BB thought before finally crawling out of bed to take a shower.

An hour later, BB is starting to empty his closet and dresser to begin packing as Kaitlyn walks into the room.

"I just heard what's happening. How are you feeling?" Kaitlyn asks with clear compassion in her voice.

"I feel better now than what I did last night. I knew this day was going to come, and as much as I wanna avoid this, I can't. I'm slowly and I mean VERY slowly coming to terms with it." BB replies emptying the last of his dressers and puts everything on the bed.

"You mean you're fine with going back to him? Are you seriously ok with going back to live with him? I mean after all the shit he put you through? Come on, Blaine!" Kaitlyn says with her tone quickly changing from compassionate to almost screaming at her cousin.

"Seriously? Does it look like I have a choice in any of this? I'm not exactly ready to shoot fireworks because my dad's coming. He's taking me back and there isn't a damn thing that can stop him." BB says starting to put clothes in a suitcase.

"Blaine, you are not leaving." Kaitlyn replies taking the same clothes out of the suitcase.

"Come on, Katie; don't make this any harder for me than it already is." BB remarks putting the same clothes back in the suitcase again.

"They can't make you leave. You belong here now." Kaitlyn says taking the clothes out of the suitcase again. BB rolls his eyes and takes the clothes back from Kaitlyn.

"Good luck trying to convince the Tulsa court system and probably the biggest factor—my dad—about that." BB says putting the same clothes in the suitcase for the third time and zipping up the suitcase. "I mean this whole situation sucks. I didn't get much sleep last night because all I could do was think about today."

"What exactly were you thinking about" Kaitlyn asks sitting on the bed as she pats the spot next to her for BB to sit.

"Actually…a lot of things. How is he going to react seeing me? Will things get better between us? Will they get worse?" BB admits looking at the floor as Kaitlyn pats him on the back.

"As much as I hate for this to happen, I just want you to know that whatever happens that you still have a lot of people here in Houston that care about you and will watch out for you." Kaitlyn says as her voice breaks and tears start flowing. "Blaine, I don't want you to go. You don't deserve this. You need to stay here with us."

BB wraps his cousin in a hug as she quietly starts sobbing. "Believe me; I don't want to go either. But I know that whatever happens, I have you to go to. I love you, Katie." BB whispers as he comforts his cousin.

* * *

Hours later, the two cousins come downstairs carrying BB's bags as they hear a knock at the door. BB stops on the stairs and looks in the direction of the front door—knowing exactly who is on the other side. Kaitlyn senses her cousin's tension and rubs his back.

"Don't worry. I'm right next to you. Remember, if things go bad we have each other, right?" Kaitlyn whispers as BB nods the affirmative.

Even though the last few weeks have been great mental vacation for him, that feeling in the pit of his stomach is about to be face to face with him in about ten seconds. BB took a deep breath and finished walking downstairs. As he finished, Cheryl already answered the door and inside the house was the last person BB wanted to see—his father. BB didn't know how to respond to him, but any thought he had completely went out the window as his father walked up to him. What happened next sent BB into every point in the emotional spectrum in about five seconds—his father started hugging him. BB's eyes went wide at what was going on. Of all the things he expected his dad to do, the last thing he expected was a hug.

"Blaine, it's great to see you. How are you doing?" BB's dad asked still hugging him.

"I'm doing…good." BB answered cautiously. Not sure what to do at the moment, BB reciprocated the hug. As that was going on, Mike walks into the living room and locks eyes with his brother.

"Jonathan." Mike says in a cold tone, showing there was no love lost between the two brothers.

"Michael." BB's dad replies in an equally cold tone. He then releases the hug with his son and walks to his brother. "Thank you for taking care of my son during all this. I…appreciate it." Johnny says as he extends his hand. The glare didn't leave Mike's eyes as he shook his brother's hand.

"We were glad to have him here. He's welcome here anytime. It's a shame he didn't get to stay here longer." Mike replies, having a stronger meaning in his words then anyone understood at the moment.

"I know, but right now we need to get going. Steve is waiting to take us to the airport and we can't miss our flight. Is everything packed and are you ready to go?" John asks his son, who nods in response. "I'll meet you in the car." Johnny says as he exits the house. BB takes a deep breath realizing his time in Houston is over as he walks over to his aunt and uncle.

"Thanks so much for helping me. I love you guys so much." BB says trying to hold himself together as he hugs his aunt and uncle.

"We love you too and be careful, ok?" Cheryl asks and BB nods in agreement. Cheryl breaks away for a moment to let her husband talk with her nephew.

"Don't think for one second that I'm giving up on you, Blaine. Take this note. Inside this note is a phrase. If there is any problem that you are having or are scared for your safety, text or call and say the phrase and we will come get you out, ok? I love you, Blaine." Mike says holding his nephew close.

"I love you, too." BB replies as he puts the note in his pocket and walks over to his cousin.

"Don't start crying or I will too." BB says as the cousins start laughing. "Do me a favor and not tell Evan or anybody about this situation, please?"

"Don't worry. I already have my stories thought out to explain what happened. I'll miss you and cut that hair when you get a chance." Kaitlyn replies hugging her cousin.

"I'll miss you too and NO." BB says as he grabs his bags and walks out the door. When the door shuts, Mike walks into his office and slams the door.

"What's wrong with dad?" Kaitlyn asks.

"He's taking this a little hard. He loves Blaine like a son and always has. He just needs to be alone." Cheryl replies as the women walk into the kitchen.

* * *

Three hours later, BB is lying on his bed staring at the ceiling of his bedroom. They got home from the airport about thirty minutes ago, and all BB has done is think.

" _Well this is…awkward. I go from goofing around with Kaitlyn to daydreaming in my bedroom in a matter of 2 days. Maybe things will be dif…."_ BB thought as he hears a knock on his door.

"Can I come in?" BB's father asks from the other side. BB looks at the door confused for a second. " _Why is he asking permission now? That hasn't stopped him from barging in before."_ BB thought as he walked to the door and opened it.

"Umm…did you need something?" BB asked cautiously.

"Yeah I do. I really need to talk to you, Blaine." Johnny said looking right into BB's eyes.

"About what?" BB asks. Before his dad answered, he grabs BB quickly and latches him into a hug.

"Blaine, I don't what else to say but I'm sorry. I am sorry for everything I have done the past few years. You never deserved the treatment. I know that my apology barely dents the hurt and anger that you have for me, but I'm hoping that we can start off with a clean slate. What do you say?" Johnny asks with tears in his eyes.

BB could not believe what he was hearing or what he was seeing. First his dad was apologizing; second his dad was crying!

" _I'm still in Houston, right? This has to be a dream! There is no way in hell that Johnny Bonin, my father, is apologizing to me for being an asshole. I don't believe this."_ BB thought as he stared at his father with a dumbfounded look on his face for a moment before answering him.

"I can agree with you on the fact that the apology doesn't simmer any hurt and anger I've had the last few years, but I do appreciate the fact that you are willing to be a big enough person to admit that. So…are you willing to change...for me?" BB asks finding unfound courage against his father.

"Yes, Blaine, I want to become a new man and become the father that you deserve. I owe it to you. Does that mean you forgive me and want to start over?" Johnny asks in return. BB thinks for a second before answering him.

"For now…I'm willing to start over, yes." BB answers. Johnny smiles and hugs his son even tighter.

BB wasn't sure how to react to all this. BB has only been in Tulsa a matter of an hour and things have changed in a big way—hopefully for the best.

* * *

Two days later, Kaitlyn is folding her laundry when she receives a text message. She looks at the message and her eyes go wide.

"I don't believe this." Kaitlyn says running downstairs.

Mike is working in his office as Kaitlyn knocks on the door and letting herself in.

"Kaitlyn, what's the problem? Did something happen?" Mike asks. Kaitlyn shakes her head.

"Something did happen. I think Hell froze over." Kaitlyn replied showing her dad the text message. The text message was from BB.

 _Katie. Can't believe it. Dad asked me for my forgiveness. Says he's gonna change. Things might change after all. Thanks 4 your support!_

Mike sighed and rolled his eyes at the message.

"You don't think he forgave him, did you?" Kaitlyn asked.

"Kaitlyn…he forgave him. There's no question." Mike replied honestly. "Blaine is smart, but he got blindsided by the one thing that Johnny knew would win his son back. I just hope that sweet kid isn't walking to the lion's den.

"You don't think he would lie about something big like that, would you?" Kaitlyn asks.

"Do you want me to answer that honestly?" Mike asks in return as Kaitlyn nods the affirmative. "Even though me and your uncle do not get along, we made a deal to never speak bad about each other to you kids. We don't want our hatred for each other to influence you. However, here is the truth."

Mike cleared his throat before answering Kaitlyn's question. "In the past…yes he would. He would use and abuse—no pun intended—anybody he could to get ahead…even family. I hope to God that Johnny would be that cruel and do that to his own flesh and blood. Who knows? Maybe I'm wrong and the bastard has change for the good. Time will tell, sweetheart. Thanks for showing me the text." Mike says kissing his daughter on the forehead. Kaitlyn nods and leaves the office.

When he was sure Kaitlyn left, Mike pulled out his phone and called a number.

"Hey it's me. You have a second?" Mike asks as the voice on the other side replies. "Thanks. Listen…the trap has been sprung."

* * *

 **What exactly did Mike mean 'The trap has been sprung'? Anybody have an idea?**

 **This is the end of Chapter 4, and it's kind of a short chapter. As I said before, I had major problems coming up with idea for this chapter. But the chapter inform/solidify Mike and Johnny's relationship with each other. If you have read From The Ground Up...this is also the first major addition/change I did with BB going back to live with his dad.**

 **Like Always. Thanks for reading and tell me what you thought.**


	5. Too Good to be True

***Drumroll* Without further ado, here is Chapter 5. Enjoy!**

* * *

It has been about a month since BB returned from Houston; his dad has surprising kept up on the promise of trying to change for the better. Over the month, father and son have went to the movies, watched football games, and BB's dad even took the teen to a Comic Book convention—which surprised BB. To most people, it seemed like father and son have reconciled and are finally bonding.

"A month later, and it's still hard to believe all this is happening. Nothing has gone wrong." BB said on the phone to Kaitlyn—who called to make sure he was still doing alright.

"That's good. It still sucks that you won't be down here when school starts. Evan has been asking to see if you are doing alright." Kaitlyn replies to which BB laughs.

"Hopefully Evan's doing pretty well. It's almost as if I'm his best friend or something." BB says.

"Oh you are." Kaitlyn says as BB looks at his phone confused. "Don't look at the phone with that 'What the fuck' look. I don't know how to explain it either. You guys only knew each other for less than a week; Evan says it's some weird connection like you and he were meant to be best friends."

"That's a little weird, but who would tempt fate. Evan's a pretty cool gu…." BB says as his dad enters the room. "Katie, I'll be right back. Don't hang up."

"Hey dad. Did you need something?" BB asks as he puts the phone down and turns to him.

"Yeah. Do you think you would be able to fend for yourself for dinner tonight? I have a date with this girl after work and who knows how long I'll be." BB's dad explains.

"It's fine. I can manage for one night. Have fun." BB replies. Johnny nods and leaves the room. BB turns back on the bed and picks up the phone to talk to Kaitlyn.

"So…your dad has a date tonight. That's sweet. I wonder what type of skank he's gonna bang tonight." Kaitlyn says with her voice dripping of sarcasm. BB rolls his eyes.

"Come on! Be nice. Who knows? If he's changed his attitude, he might have changed his standards of the women he's dating." BB says trying to look on the bright side.

"Maybe. I'm gonna go. I'm meeting Seth at the gym. I'll talk to you later." Kaitlyn says.

"See ya later, Katie." BB replies as they both hang up the phone. BB rolls his eyes and punches his pillow _"Why can't Kaitlyn be happy for me? Why can't she believe that my dad has changed for the better? I know she's looking out for me, but it's really annoying. He said he was going to change. He promised me…and he would never go back on his promise if he were serious."_ BB thought as rolled out of bed.

* * *

Later in the day, BB was returning home from picking up dinner. When he walked into the house, he couldn't believe what he saw.

"Oh my god! I'm sorry! Should I…should I come back later? Or I should I sit outside and wait?" BB said stammering as he walked in on his father being straddled—presumably—by his date. Johnny chuckled and walked over to BB with the girl.

"Don't worry about it. We weren't doing anything." Johnny said—a little slur in his words. "I didn't realize you would be back so soon. Weren't you supposed to be eating with Uncle Steve?"

"Umm…yeah, but Steve had to cancel because he got called to the station. Is this the girl you went on a date with tonight?" BB asks motioning to the blonde standing next to his father.

"Yep. Let me introduce you to my date, Terri." Johnny says grabbing Terri by the waist. "Terri, this is my little son B…B…B…." Johnny stammers momentarily forgetting his son's name.

"Blaine." BB says staring at his dad awkwardly. _"How the fuck could he forget my name? It's not like I'm his son or anything. He's either drunk off his ass or he's playing stupid to get points with this Terri. I don't smell booze, so it must be the second one."_ BB thought rolling his eyes.

"Blaine?" Terri asked and BB nodded. "That's a sweet name for a sweet kid. Nice to meet you." Terri said smiling. As BB extended his hand for a shake, Terri grabbed him by the arm, pulled him in, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. BB eyes widened as Johnny laughed.

"I tell ya, she's a friendly one, isn't she?" Johnny asked slapping BB on the back. BB's eyes got wider as he turned to look at his dad.

"Friendly is one way to describe it." BB managed to reply. "Quick question, dad. Terri is your date, right?" BB asks and Johnny nods. "Then who in the hell is that?" BB asks motioning to the brunette filing her nails on the couch.

"Oh her? She's one of Terri's friends from New Jersey. Miss Rinaldi. She came to visit Terri and I asked Terri to bring her along so she wouldn't be so bored." Johnny said itching his nose as Terri grabs him around the waist.

"Isn't he quite the gentleman?" Terri asks. BB fought the urge to roll his eyes at the moment, but did his best to stay polite.

"Umm…yeah…gentleman. Dad, I grabbed dinner on the way home, so I'm going upstairs to eat. You have…fun." BB says almost sprinting up the stairs to his room.

"This is ridiculous! How did I let you convince me to run five miles?" Kaitlyn said panting as she was walking up to the front door to Seth—who had been waiting for Kaitlyn for a few minutes.

"I need to get in shape for football season, so running is a good way to start. And…you kinda like me." Seth replies kissing her on the cheek.

"You're lucky I do, or I would have told you to fuck that running shit." Kaitlyn says catching her breath at the doorway. As she opens the door, her cell phone rings. Kaitlyn looks at the number and looks to Seth.

"It's Blaine. Is it cool if I take this?" Kaitlyn asks as Seth nods.

"Of course. I'm gonna run and get us something to drink. I'll be back." Seth smiles and goes to the kitchen as Kaitlyn answers BB's call.

"Hey, Blaine. What's up?" Kaitlyn asks.

"You sound like you just finished hyperventilating." BB says with a small laugh.

"A little bit. Seth convinced me to run five miles with him." Kaitlyn replies laughing.

"I'm impressed because you hate running. By the way, have you ever had moments where you are just creeped out by something and you really can't tell why?" BB asks sitting at the desk in his room eating his dinner.

"Yeah. Every time I walk by the Wyatt Family sheep farm. Why?" Kaitlyn replies sitting on the couch as Seth returns with two bottles of water.

"This is gonna be a weird conversation. First off, I walked into the house seeing my dad being straddled by his date." BB says.

"Holy shit, really? That is weird. You said first off…that means there's more?" Kaitlyn replies.

"A little bit. Dad also invited the date's friend along with them. I wonder if I walked in before all three were going to do something. You know…SOMETHING." BB says making air quotes as he holds the phone.

"SHUT UP BLAINE! THAT'S DISGUSTING!" Kaitlyn yells into the phone. "Nobody wants to imagine family members having sex, or walking in on it."

"No shit, Katie. That's not even the weirdest thing. I think that dad's date was trying to hit on me." BB says.

"Your dad's date? Hitting on you?" Kaitlyn asks before starting to laugh. "Blaine, don't you think that's a little crazy. Come on, his date is at least twice your age. Why would she hit on you?"

"I first had the same reaction, but as I started talking to my dad, I could feel like she was giving me the once over. Hell, when I first met her, I went in for a handshake and she kisses me." BB answers looking up at the ceiling.

"I don't think she has a clue that you're only sixteen. That's wrong on a few levels if you ask me. If my mom was single and her date was hitting on me, he'd probably be dead. Just saying." Kaitlyn says disgusted.

"I thought that, too; all my dad says was that she a very friend…." BB says before being cut off by a hand grabbing his phone and ending the call.

"Blaine? BLAINE!" Kaitlyn yells at the phone wondering where her cousin went.

"What happened with Blaine?" Seth asks.

"I don't know. He was about to tell me something, and then the call just ends. That's weird." Kaitlyn replies snuggling into Seth.

"Maybe there's a storm or something where he's at and the call just dropped." Seth replies. Kaitlyn nods as they start watching a movie.

"What the fuck was…." BB started to yell before being cut off by a voice. He turned around and saw that it was his dad's date—Terri.

"You looked tense downstairs, so I came up here to see if you were alright. I'm sorry if I scared you." Terri replies almost seductively.

"So you wanted to see if I was alright by sneaking in my bedroom and taking my phone? I was in the middle of an important call!" BB says getting annoyed.

"I see you're still tense. Let me give you a massage to loosen you up." Terri says smiling.

"Umm no thanks. I don't need a ma…." BB tries to say before being spun around in his chair and Terri starts massaging his shoulders.

"Don't be so uptight. I can feel it in your shoulders. You'll thank me for this later." Terri says starting to massage BB's shoulders.

"That's really nice of you, but I really know nothing about you. Besides, you're on a date with my dad and he's probably wonder…WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?" BB screams midsentence as Terri's hands are not on BB's shoulders. Somehow during BB's rant, Terri had unbuttoned the top two buttons of BB's shirt and stuck her hands down his tank top—rubbing his chest and his stomach.

"You must work out, don't you? I like what I'm feeling. And come on! You can't tell me that you don't like this. Besides, you're a good looking guy. Maybe you need to show off your body a bit more and you'll get a girl of your own." Terri says still groping BB. BB has had enough and he pulls Terri's hands—which have stalled WAY too long on his chest—out of his shirt.

"Thanks for the advice, but no thanks." BB says buttoning up his shirt. "First off, I'm not gonna parade myself around like a Calvin Klein model to get a girlfriend. Second, you are on a date with my DAD not ME! Probably the most important thing is that what you are doing right now is completely ILLEGAL! You might not be aware of this, but I am only sixteen and I DO NOT consent to this." BB screams at Terri.

"Oh, but you will, Blaine. You will." Terri replies.

"I highly doubt that. Now if you would just get out of my room." BB glares as he gets out of his chair and sits on the trunk in front of his bed.

"Ok. You made your point. I'm out of here." Terri says putting up her hands in surrender and starts leaving the room. BB rolls his eyes silently thanking God that she's finally gone, but he was quickly brought out of his thoughts when his right arm is pulled back and he hears a click. BB looks down at his wrist and sees that he was handcuffed to the wooden rungs of his bed's footboard.

"You're a stubborn little bastard. Let me tell you something. When I want something, I WILL GET IT." Terri yells as she handcuffs BB's other wrist to the footboard.

"What the fuck is wrong with you? You crazy BITCH!" BB yells as Terri slaps him across the face.

"I would be quiet and enjoy this if I were you. You aren't exactly in the position to be calling shots, and you won't be for a LONG while." Terri replies. BB glares at Terri as he tries to get out of the handcuffs, but to no avail.

"Why are you doing this? This is illegal! You'll be going to jail and registered as a sex offender! LET ME GO!" BB screams. Terri grabs his face and gives him a kiss on the cheek.

"Now, Blaine, I really do like you. Since you want to know, I have a little bit of a reputation. People have called me a 'horny little she-devil'. I think that caught your daddy's attention. I had no doubts that I would get your dad tonight, but I didn't have a clue that his son was even cuter. I've never had a father AND son in the same night, so I figured why not and start with you. You're kind of like testing out a new car. Now shut up and enjoy this!" Terri says getting on the bed and pulling the rubber band out of BB's hair and running her hands through his hair before running her hands over BB's chest. BB was getting very close to vomiting.

"You are a sick human being. Rot in hell!" BB screams out. Terri smirks and gets off the bed. She walks in front of BB and starts to straddle him.

"I like you, but you are making it very hard to not use extreme methods against you. You can't tell me you haven't fantasized about being seduced by an older woman. It's just your dream coming true, Blaine. Just loosen up." Terri says starting to unbutton BB's shirt. After she does that, she grabs a pair of scissors of BB's desks and starts cutting BB's tank top. BB glares at the ceiling—thinking of a plan to get out of the situation, but things were looking dire for the teen.

"It's about time you started to loosen up. Was that so hard for you to do?" Terri seductively asks after cutting BB's shirts to shreds—leaving him bare chested. After she put the scissors back on the desk, she straddles BB and starts kissing his neck.

"You'll pay for this! My dad will be up here to see where you went. He'll find you attempt to molest his son and call the police so fast, your head will spin." BB says with anger and disgust clear in his voice.

"I HIGHLY doubt that. Your dad is way too enamored with me and life in general to worry about anything else. You're mine for now and I plan on finishing the job!" Terri says sliding in between BB's legs and starting to undo his belt.

"You're bluffing. You're a lying SLUT. Dad! DAD!" BB starts screaming to get his dad's attention as Terri starts removing BB's jeans.

"That's it! I've had enough of your talking and screaming. Time for extreme measures." Terri says walking by the bedroom and pulling a cloth and bottle out of a bag. Meanwhile BB is still screaming bloody murder to get SOMEBODY'S attention, but he is soon muffled by the cloth over his mouth.

"I told you I always get what I want; sometimes I have to result to the old chloroform trick. This should shut you up and knock you out long enough for me to finish." Terri says holding the cloth over BB's face—who is trying to fight out of it. "Damn, most virgins don't scream as much as you have. Do you EVER shut up?" Terri asks as BB's fighting becomes less and less before he is almost to the point of unconsciousness.

"About damn time you shut up. I said you would enjoy this and you will—even though you won't remember any of it." Terri says laughing as she finishes removing BB's jeans, leaving him in his underwear. BB feels a slight tug of his clothes before falling fully unconscious.

* * *

Sometime later, BB woke up lying on the bed. He tried sitting up, but the headache he had made it almost impossible.

"Oh my god!" BB said quickly lying back down and putting a pillow over his head.

"I see you're finally awake. I have some Tylenol for you, and it should help that headache." BB heard a voice say. BB removed the pillow and saw that it was the other girl in his living room—Miss Rinaldi.

"Thank you." BB replied taking the pills and drinking the water. When he looked down, he realized that he had nothing on but his underwear. BB yelled and pulled the covers over him to his neck with his face burning beat red. "Aren't you that other woman with my dad...Rinaldi?"

"Yeah that's me. I'm the friend of…." Miss Rinaldi said before being cut off.

"Oh my god!" BB said slowly remembering what was going on before passing out. He looked off the side of his bed and saw what was left of his shirts on the floor. "OH MY GOD!" BB screamed pulling the covers over his head.

"Are you alright?" Miss Rinaldi asked.

"No I'm not alright. What happened hours ago was not just a horrible nightmare and that whore my dad's dating tried to pretty much molest me in my own bedroom!" BB yelled pulling the covers off his face. "Speaking of whores, where is my dad?"

"They left to some hotel room. Didn't tell me a thing, and like I know my way around Tulsa. Actually what happened earlier is what I wanted to talk to you about." Miss Rinaldi said as BB got off the bed—covered with the bed sheet—to his dresser to put on clothes.

"I really don't want to talk about this. Especially with somebody I don't even know that well—no offense—it's just that what happened has happened and I can't change it. I was test driven by some crack whore, and even with all my screaming my dad didn't stop her." BB said putting on shorts and a shirt and packing a gym bag.

"Blaine. I really think I should listen to me." Miss Rinaldi said trying to reason with BB, but he was having none of it.

"So you can say what? That this was not my fault? That I didn't deserve it? Guess what? I've heard this shit before in assembly. I'm sorry to be rude, but it's nine at night and I REALLY don't feel like staying in this house tonight. I've gotta go." BB said grabbing his gym back and running out of the house as fast as possible. Miss Rinaldi looked at the teen with sympathy as he ran out of the room. When he was gone, she pulled out her cell phone and called a number.

"It's DM. I got what you needed. How long will it take?" Miss Rinaldi said as the voice on the other side answered. "Thirty-six hours? Hopefully that's not too long. Thanks." Miss Rinaldi said hanging up her first call and dialing a second number.

"Hey, Lethal, It's DM. Could you do me a huge favor? I need to meet me somewhere tomorrow at one in the afternoon, and I need you to bring somebody special. I'll text you the details. See you tomorrow." Miss Rinaldi answered hanging up her phone.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, a winded BB was knocking on the door of somebody's house. BB was banging frantically before somebody answered the door.

"What are you doing here, Blaine?" Uncle Steve asked as BB walked into the house.

"Sorry for being here so late. Is it ok if I stay here tonight? By the way, can I borrow your shower? The water pressure was low at our house and it wouldn't get the job done." BB said quickly and anxiously leaving Steve confused.

"Take a breath, Blaine. You know you're welcome to stay here anytime; you can use my shower. You don't look like you need one, though." Steve says inquisitively. BB laughs almost too quickly at the response.

"Oh believe me. I'm actually feeling really dirty right now. Running all the way here doesn't help matters either. Thanks so much Uncle Steve." BB says grabbing some clothes and rushing into the bathroom. Steve looks at the bathroom door wondering what is going on as he shakes his head and returns back to work at his desk.

When Steve hears the water turn off in the bathroom, he looks up from his work and waits for BB to get out of the bathroom. When he finally does, Steve sits next to BB on the bed.

"Is something bothering you?" Steve asks. Blaine looks at Steve and laughs.

"No. Why do you ask?" BB replies trying to hide his nervousness.

"It's just that you seem a little off. Like something has happened that you don't wanna tell anyone about. Did your father hit you?" Steve questions BB. BB shakes his head.

"No. He didn't hit me. I can honestly tell you that. Can we please change the subject?" BB asks anxiously as Steve puts his hands up in surrender.

"Ok. I understand. But since you are over here, do you think you can help me with something today?" Steve asks in return.

"Sure. I can help you. What do you need help with?" BB answers.

* * *

"You know when you asked if you needed my help with something, I was expecting something like moving furniture or a trip to Lowe's. I did NOT think you meant needing help with your grocery shopping." BB says as he walks behind Steve—who is pushing the cart through the aisles.

"Come on, Blaine. This isn't that bad. You look like you need to get out of your house and I need help with grocery shopping. Thanks in advance." Steve says looking behind him at BB as BB smiles in return. After they finishing the shopping, BB is helping Steve put his groceries in the back of his car when he catches a glimpse of someone he doesn't want to see.

"Oh my god. What the hell is she doing here?" BB says a little too loudly.

"What is who doing here?" Steve asks walking over to BB. BB points over to the lady walking closer to the car—Miss Rinaldi.

"Her. She was at our house last night. I don't know who she is, but she gives me the creeps." BB says as Steve looks at her. "Don't stare! She'll notice and walk over here!" BB manages to say before he was proven correct. Steve locked eyes with her and she was walking over to them.

"Lethal! Long time, no see! How have you been?" Miss Rinaldi says running over and hugging Steve.

"Been good. How have you been, DM?" Steve asks.

"Good. Glad to be back." Miss Rinaldi replies.

"Wait a second! You two know each other? When did you ever live in New Jersey?" BB asks Steve who laughs in return.

"I've never lived in New Jersey; we go back a few years." Steve replies.

"That's right. Officer Dawn Marie. It's great to finally tell you who I really am." Dawn Marie says extending her hand to BB—who shakes it questioningly.

"Wait? I am so confused. What's going on? Is your last name really Rinaldi?" BB asks holding his temples.

"No. Rinaldi is an alias. I specialized in undercover operations. I apologize for using underhanded tactics to get to talk to you, but there are some things you might need to know. First thing is what happened last night." Dawn Marie says before BB cuts her off.

"No need to bring that up! Please stop bringing that up! It happened, I feel disgusted, and now I have the urge to throw up. Just let me repress it like a normal teenager until I have to go to therapy." BB says trying not to scream and have people overhear.

"What happened last night?" Steve asks looking at BB with a look saying _'I knew you were hiding something'_.

"His father's date—my friend Terri Runnels—attempted to engage in sexual activities with him." Dawn Marie said before being interrupted again by BB.

"Don't sugarcoat it. Say it as it is. I was molested. I was raped. I lost my virginity to some whore who was on a date with my dad. I was…." BB says in a frenzy before being interrupted.

"That's what I have been trying to tell you the last two days. Nothing happened!" Dawn Marie yells to get BB to stop panicking. BB stops talking and looks at her dumbfounded.

"Wait what? What do you mean nothing happened?" BB asks.

"That's what I was gonna tell you last night so you wouldn't fly off the handle. Terri would have done something if I hadn't stopped her." Dawn Marie replies.

"What exactly did you stop her from doing?" Steve asks Dawn Marie.

"Exactly what you are probably thinking right now." Dawn Marie says as Steve's eyes go wide. "I heard screaming downstairs, and I wondered what was going on. I excused myself to the restroom and went and saw what was happening. When I entered, I saw an unconscious kid handcuffed to the bed ready to lose everything. I confronted Terri and told her I would go to the cops if she didn't leave at that moment—she tried to fight back but I threatened to knock her teeth out."

"I can't believe this." BB said looking down at the ground with a mix of shame and embarrassment. Steve pats him on the back in comfort.

"I also wanted to explain why you felt so sick when you woke up hours later. She drugged you with a classic chloroform cloth. Chloroform has been found to cause headaches and nausea, so that's why you felt like you had a hangover. I completely understand why you panicked and ran away, but I just wanted to let you know that nothing happened." Dawn Marie said with a small smile.

"That also explains why you frantically wanted to use my shower when you showed up. Why didn't you tell me?" Steve asked.

"I didn't want my life to sound like some traumatic movie or soap opera. First this kid is abused by his dad then raped by his date. My life would sound like something you can only read about." BB answers. "Wait? If you could hear my screaming from downstairs, why couldn't my dad hear them as well?" BB asks Dawn Marie.

"You're not gonna like the answer. Are you ready for it?" Dawn Marie asks. BB gulps and slowly nods his head.

"It's because of two reasons. The first reason I'll explain later. As for the second reason, Terri and your father have actually been dating for some time. Hours after you left the initial meeting, all Terri could talk about was how uptight and tense you were. Your dad told Terri to give you some of her special 'stress reliever' and that you needed to loosen up." Dawn Marie admits.

"So…in a more blunt sense…my dad pimped me out to some skank?" BB asks her. She nods.

"When I explain to you the first reason, you will better understand the second reason. Blaine, when I ask you this I need a very serious answer. Blaine…has your dad EVER done drugs?" Dawn Marie asks as both she and Steve look at him. BB looks at both adults and looks back at the ground before giving his answer.

"…yes." BB quietly admits. Steve shakes his head as Dawn Marie nods in understanding.

"Do you remember when he was using them?" Dawn asks and replies with an almost robotic nod.

"I was twelve when I saw him the first time using drugs. I don't know how much he cared that I knew because I saw him multiple times until I was thirteen. I stayed with Uncle Steve for three months after that. I thought he was going to rehab, but I guess I was wrong." BB says sadly.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Steve asks.

"Because I knew if I told you that it would be worse for me. I was afraid of how much worse it would be for me if I told anybody." BB admits.

"You brought up earlier that were abused by your father. Are you sure that the abuse wasn't brought on by the drug usage?" Dawn asks. BB felt like he was being interrogated and that the results would be traumatic for him; at that point, he didn't care and all he wanted to do was to shut everything down and be alone.

"He was always off of his high when those things happened. When he was on drugs…he was always so mellow and nice—I know it's weird. I feel so stupid that I didn't realize it when I first saw them together." BB says slapping his palm against his forehead before looking at Dawn Marie. "I am so sorry that I didn't give you the opportunity to say your peace yesterday. Also…thanks for your help. You really helped me put things into perspective."

"Don't worry about it and it was my pleasure to help you. I must be going. It was good to see you again, Blaine. Take care, Lethal." Dawn Marie said giving Steve a hug and walking away. Steve smiles and watches Dawn Marie walk away, but the smile quickly fades when he sees BB staring down at the ground with a dazed expression on his face.

"Blaine…are you ok?" Steve asks putting a hand on BB's shoulder—which snapped him out of his expressionless daze.

"I'm…ok. Ca…Can we just leave?" BB asks as Steve nods and unlocks the car. Moments later, they leave the store and drive back to Steve's house.

* * *

After arriving back at Steve's house and putting up the groceries, BB is lying on a bed staring up at the ceiling. Steve walks in and sits next to BB.

"Are you sure you are doing alright?" Steve asks. BB nods and sits up.

"Yeah. I'm fine." BB says unconvincingly.

"Who are you trying to fool? Me…or yourself?" Steve replies. BB opens his mouth to make a comeback, but he quickly realizes that there's no point in starting a fight.

"Is it that obvious?" BB asks and Steve nods. "I'm as good as good can be, but today put a lot of things in perspective for me."

"Like what?" Steve asks.

"I don't want to get into much detail, but I will say this. After tonight, things will most certainly change." BB replies getting off the bed. BB walks over to his gym bag and starts putting clothes in it.

"Blaine, what are you doing?" Steve asks confused.

"What I need to do has to be done now. Things will only get worse if I don't. I have to find the courage to stand up to my dad at some point in my life. Today is the day." BB says zipping up his bag and walking to the door.

"Blaine, you can't do this. Can't you think of a better way to do this?" Steve asks grabbing BB's shoulder.

"Probably, but right now nope. I'll see ya later." BB says patting Steve and walking out the door. Steve looks at the door with amazement; only has one thought going through his head at the moment.

" _This is NOT going to end well."_

* * *

 **Here is Chapter 5. The confrontation happens next chapter. As for the major scene in this chapter-sorry if it was horribly written or too raunchy. I had a scene kind of like this in my previous story and I wanted to make it more believable. Fun Fact: Dawn Marie used the last name Rinaldi when she first debuted with WWE, so that's where Miss Rinaldi came from. Stayed tuned for Chapter 6.**

 **Hopefully you all are enjoying the story!**


	6. The Confrontation

**Alright! I'm back and it is now time for the confrontation most of us have been waiting for! How will things go between BB and his dad. Read on to find out! Enjoy!**

* * *

BB walked up to his house and stared at it with intimidation clear in his eyes.

" _What am I thinking? I can't do this! But I must do this! If I don't tell him now…I'll never be able to and things will just get worse. Hell…they'll probably get worse if I do tell him. Ugh."_ BB thought as he slowly started walking up to the front door. BB stops before reaching the porch, reached into his pocket, and pulled out his cell phone and dials a number.

" _Hello."_ The voice says.

"Hey Katie." BB replies.

" _What do you need?"_ Kaitlyn asks. BB takes a gulp before answering.

"I'm not going to keep you long because I have something I need to do, but I just remembered that I need to tell Mike something." BB answers.

" _What? Blaine, now you are starting to scare me. What are you doing?"_ Kaitlyn says with worry starting to become clear in her voice.

"Don't worry about it. Don't worry about me. Just tell Mike something for me." BB says before he quickly tells Kaitlyn what he wanted to tell Mike. "I've gotta go! I'll talk to you later, Katie. I love you!" BB says before hanging up the phone.

" _I don't have the heart to tell her. She'll find out anyways. It's only a matter of time."_ BB thought before slowing walking up the porch steps to his house.

Kaitlyn looks at her phone with a look mixed with shock, hurt, and confusion when Mike walks downstairs and sees the look on her face.

"What's the matter, sweetheart?" Mike asks sitting next to his daughter.

"Nothing really, but Blaine was acting really weird." Kaitlyn replies.

"What do you mean weird?" Mike asks in return.

"Well he acted like he was going away forever or something. He said don't worry about me and to tell you that 'Patriots are going to the World Series this year'. I think Blaine is a little con…dad?" Kaitlyn explains before catching the look on her dad's face.

"Kaitlyn…when did you get off the phone with him?" Mike asks in the most serious tone that she ever heard from her father.

"Probably about a couple minutes ago. When you came downstairs, he just hung up on me. Why? Are you gonna tell him that the Patriots don't play baseball?" Kaitlyn asks confused.

"No. He knows that the Patriots are a football team. That's what I was afraid of. I need to get to Tulsa…and fast." Mike says quickly leaving Kaitlyn and running up the stairs. When Kaitlyn reaches her parents' bedroom, she sees her dad rapidly packing a bag.

"Dad! What's going on with Blaine? Please tell me!" Kaitlyn yells in almost a panic.

"Katie, that remark about the World Series was a code. Before he left that day, I told Blaine that if he was going to be in any immediate danger to tell me in any way he can that some random football team was going to the World Series and I would go to Houston and get him myself." Mike replies zipping up his bag. "After a month, I thought that my brother would change. I guess I'm wrong about that bastard. I've got to get there before Blaine gets extremely hurt."

"I'm going too. If Blaine is in danger, I want to be there to help him. He doesn't deserve this. He's walking right into a trap." Kaitlyn answers. Mike goes to tell her no, but stops and looks at his daughter with sympathetic eyes. He remembers that when the two were little, they were always around each other, played, and acted like brother and sister. He knows that she won't like what she will see, but she doesn't care and wants to help her cousin when he knows he's going to need it most.

"Alright. Hurry up and pack a bag. We need to get going as soon as possible." Mike says grabbing his bag as Kaitlyn quickly runs to her room and starts packing.

* * *

BB walks into the house, and as he closes the door he hears a loud growl coming from the living room.

"Who the fuck is slamming the door? Can't a guy get som…oh it's you!" Johnny says glaring at BB.

"Yep. It's me. Dad we need to talk." BB says trying to stay calm, but he is getting more nervous by the second.

"About what? Where the hell have you been all day, you little shit?" Johnny asks. It didn't take very long for it to happen; at that moment, BB lost all sense of control and started to unleash hell.

"Where was I? How about where were YOU two days ago when your slut of a date decided to hit on me? Oh wait! I remember! You were the asshole who decided to let her do that shit to me." BB retorted but was quickly slapped in the mouth by his father.

"You watch your mouth. You don't talk to me like that. I'm your father." Johnny replied getting angrier by the second.

"My father? MY FATHER! You are a lot of things, but a father to me isn't one of them. A father cares for his son. A father doesn't allow their date to have sex with their son. A FATHER DOESN'T DO DRUGS IN THE LIVING ROOM AND PASS OUT. I can't believe I was so stupid. I should have known you weren't going to change. What's the saying grandpa told me…that's right 'leopards don't change their spots'. Once a liar…always a liar." BB said before getting punched in the stomach by his father.

"You little bastard. After everything I've done for you since you came back. You have the nerve to talk to me like this." Johnny says enraged while walking closer to BB. BB tries to keep his distance by backing away from his father, but soon finds himself cornered.

"Done as what? A cover-up for your true intentions. The best thing for you should have been to let me stay in Houston. But NO! You had to be a big shot and give everyone the classic bullshit line of how you've changed. If you were trying to fool everybody, you epically failed. The only person you fooled is me. Nobody else believed you, but I defended you. I DEFENDED YOU! What do you do in return? You lied to me…you LIED TO ME! You lied to about quitting drugs. You lied about wanting me back and you lied to me about lov…."BB shouted at the top of his lungs before his dad stopped him by grabbing his throat.

"I'm only going to say this once. Shut. Your. Mouth. It's none of your business what I do in my personal life. Just because I was able to use technicalities and loopholes to get you away from my dick of a brother, doesn't mean I didn't want you back. I really did. I can tell you have already been around Mike way too long. You don't know when to shut up. I can tell you right now that if you open your mouth again…you won't be around to say anything else. You understand?" Johnny asks with venom in every word. BB's eyes widen as he nods. Johnny smirks and loosens the hold on BB's throat. BB believes this is the one opportunity that he has to get free. BB raises his knee and catches his father in the gut—which fully releases the hold on his throat. BB takes a big gasp and starts to run for it; as he tries to get away, his dad catches him by the ponytail.

"Now that wasn't nice. Where do you think you're going?" Johnny asks condescendingly. BB glares at his father while he thinks about his answer.

"I'm going away. Away from you and away from anything around here that reminds me of you. I might have to love you, by I sure as fuck don't like you. It doesn't matter where I go. As long as I am away from you." BB answers in return, every word releasing more and more anger.

"I really don't think so. You see I have the courts on my side. You run, you become a teenage runaway. You can't win, Blaine. Besides, if you get away, who will be able to help you? Steve? Nope. Be too obvious. Your friends? You don't have any. What about your cousin Kaitlyn that you adore so much? Not gonna happen. That slut's too busy getting knocked up by her boyfriend. You're pathetic. You're weak. You'll be alone. Why do you think Mike took you in the first place? Because he was the last resort. Do you really think he wanted you? Nope. You're just a burden. A burden for him just like you've always been a burden for me." Johnny says laughing. At that moment, BB's head is swirling with emotions ranging from sad to anger—which BB responds by slapping his father in the face.

"Nice to know what you thought of me all these years. A burden, huh? You're a bastard. I'd rather die alone than have to be called a pathetic burden by you." BB says backing away slowly.

"You know what? You might just get your wish." Johnny said finally having enough with his son's words. Quickly after, Johnny throws a punch which BB narrowly avoids.

" _What the hell am I thinking? I can't fight him! He has a black belt…thanks a lot Steve. He'll kill me…literally. I guess I just have one option left."_ BB thought as he ran upstairs as quickly as possible with his father on his heels. BB makes it to his bedroom and tries to lock the door, but Johnny was too fast and kicks the door away.

"Please. You don't want to do this. You don't like me, but I'm your son. YOUR SON! You should think about this." BB said trying to convince his dad that pummeling him will solve nothing. Johnny stops in his crusade against his son and stops to think about what his son said. Johnny looks to have taken his son's plea to heart and walks to him with open arms. BB takes a couple steps forward before he realized he fell into another trap when he feels something collide with his temple. BB stumbles back and holds onto the wall to keep his balance. He reaches up to the side of his head and when he looks at his fingers, they come back coated with blood. He looks at his dad with dazed vision and watches him twirl his ring around his finger.

"Sorry, Blaine. But this is going to hurt me more than it will hurt you." Johnny says cracking his knuckles and walking towards BB as he cringes in fear.

* * *

"DAD! I know you're worried, but driving 106 down the interstate won't make things better. Can you slow down?" Kaitlyn asks as she yells at her dad while he is weaving through lanes of traffic to make it to BB as fast as possible.

"I know. I'm sorry. I'm acting like a madman, but I'm worried. Have you been able to call your cousin?" Mike asks slowing down the car and calming down.

"Not yet. Every time I call, it goes straight to voice mail. I don't like this, dad." Kaitlyn says getting more worried about her cousin by the second.

"Everything will be fine. Trust me. By this time tomorrow, Blaine will be coming back where he belongs…at home with us." Mike says focusing on the road—more determined than ever as Kaitlyn looks at him with astonishment.

" _Don't do anything stupid, Blaine. We're on our way. Just stay safe." Kaitlyn thought looking at the interstate before looking back down at her phone._

"What's the matter, Blaine? Scared?" Johnny asks inching closer to his son, who couldn't stop trembling in fear.

"Wh...what makes you think I'm scared?" BB asks unconvincingly to his dad. Johnny laughs and wraps his arm tightly around his son's shoulders.

"You shouldn't be scared of me. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm actually very proud of you for standing up to me." Johnny answers letting go of his son. BB spins around to face his father once again.

"Really? You mean that? You're proud of me?" BB replies not sure what to make of the situation. Johnny smiles and quickly hugs BB.

"I do. I just wanted to show you how much that meant to me." Johnny says. Almost instantaneously after saying that, Johnny gets an evil smirk across his face. He quickly leaves the hugs and slaps his son across the face. BB stumbles back holding his left cheek. He looks up at his father with a complete look of shock as if to say 'Why did you do that?'

"Look you little bastard. I'm done playing happy house with you. I don't like you and you sure as hell don't like me. So I might as well tell you the truth. It was all your fault that our family went to shit. I love you, but you shouldn't have happened. You were always 'Mommy and Daddy's little mistake'. Johnny said matter-of-factly. It was then that BB finally understood that nothing and absolutely nothing will change his father's mind or his opinion about him. He loved him because he was his father, but that was it. His mere existence made his father hate him. Usually BB would be overcome with sadness, but this time, it was full-fledged anger.

"Go to hell, you bastard." BB said with clear hatred and spite in his voice. BB didn't know what came over him, but he lost control of himself and punched his father square in the jaw. Johnny stumbled over to the side and held his jaw as he looked at BB with look of pure shock in his eyes. At that moment, BB couldn't fight away the smile on his face. BB realized what he did and decided that now would be the perfect time to run for it. As he tried to make it to the door, Johnny caught his son by the belt loops of his jeans.

"Oh no. No running away this time around. You're going to stay and take everything like a man." Johnny says yanking BB back as hard as he can, but BB manages to latch onto the bedroom door for dear life.

"I did that when I was ten. There's no excuse for this. I'm almost seventeen. THIS. IS. BULLSHIT!" BB replies trying to grab whatever he could to leave the room, but his father was just as resilient as he was. When his dad let his left hand go from BB's jeans to the sleeve of his shirt, BB took the chance and jumped with all the strength he could muster out of his father's hold. The first thing BB registered when he freed himself was the sight of his father holding the sleeve of his shirt and a piece of the beltline of his jeans in his hands. When his dad started dashing for him, BB jumped to his feet and ran for the stairs as fast as possible. Unfortunately for BB, his fastest wasn't fast enough because as soon as BB made it halfway down the stairs, his dad grabbed his left arm.

"Nice try. I told you that you weren't going to be able to get away from me this time." His dad said weaving BB's arm through the banister. BB figures out his plan and tries to plea with his dad.

"Come on…don't do this. Don't do something you will regret for the rest of your life. Please!" BB frantically says to his dad.

"Well…there is one thing you can do to get me to stop. You can admit you were wrong…and tell me you love me." Johnny says getting ready to attack. BB shakes his head while glaring at his father.

"After what you told me, I'd rather gouge my eyes out with tweezers." BB said with no regrets.

"That can be arranged, but right now let's work on this." Johnny replies as he starts awkwardly pulling his son's arm around the rungs of the banister. BB was trying as hard as he can not to scream because lord knows his dad would get a kick out of that.

"The more you try to deny, the harder I'm gonna pull. Let's try this again! Say you love me or the pain will get worse." Johnny says waiting for a response. BB gulps to try to not think about the pain as he collects himself before he answers.

"You called me a mistake…you're an asshole." BB says in response with anger still clearly noticed in his voice. As much as hearing his dad call him a mistake makes him want to crawl in a corner and cry, the anger coming over BB greatly overpasses any sadness he will eventually feel.

"Wrong answer, Blaine." His father says as starts pulling harder. BB's forearm starts curving around one of the banisters. BB eyes widen and he bites on his right fist to try to ignore the pain; he knows that he probably won't last much longer. "This is your last chance. Say it…or else."

BB looks at his father with his tears in his eyes from the pain and tries to say the only thing on his mind right now regarding this whole thing, "…FUCK YOU!"

His dad eyes widen with what his son says, puts one foot on the banister, and starts pulling harder. "I warned you, Blaine, I warned you." Johnny kept repeating as he pulled harder and harder. It was much longer until BB felt a crack. BB couldn't handle the pain anymore and started screaming in agony.

His father was satisfied with his job and let go of his son's arm. "You didn't give me the best answer I wanted, but this was sure as hell the second best. Wait…I do have to pay you back for one more thing." His father says. BB was too busy holding his arm to see the punch his father threw hit him in the face. BB felt the punch and the force knocked him back and sent him stumbling down the stairs. He tried to catch his balance on the last step, but he landed weird and fell on his butt. BB got up as fast as he could; as soon as he tried to run, he felt a surge of pain in his right ankle.

" _Keep going, BB. Can't quit now. Must. Keep. Going."_ BB thought as he half jogged and half limped to the front door trying to escape as safe as possible. Sadly, the injured ankle hindered BB's speed and his dad caught up to him pretty quickly. His dad grabbed him by the uninjured arm and flung him back against the stair post. BB landed hard against his back and let out a small grunt of pain. In all honesty it hurt a lot, but he didn't want his dad to get anymore thrills from seeing him in pain. BB tried to fight back with his only good arm, but his dad showed no compassion and belted his son in the face and ribs a few times. BB could hardly breathe as his eyes started to water and his nose started running. When BB went to wipe his nose, his hand came back red with blood thanks to one of his dad's punches.

" _I didn't picture things going this way…actually yes I did. There's no point in fighting anymore…WAIT! What am I saying? I just need to hold out until my rescue team arrives. If there is some way I can make it outside, I would be able to get away as fast as possible. Just need to think of a way…oh god my head hurts."_ BB thought.

As BB tried to regain his composure, his dad went into the kitchen to grab something. When he returned, he had an empty beer bottle in his hands. BB's eyes went wide as he saw the glass bottle. BB knew that if his dad got a direct hit with that bottle, his escape plans go down in flames. Johnny walks over slowly to his son with a maniacal look in his eyes.

"Goodnight, Blaine. I love you." Johnny said before swinging the bottle at full speed. BB avoids the shot at the last second and the bottle breaks against the stair post. BB took full opportunity of the miscue and ran for the door with his life. This time he manages to get out the door before his dad fully recovers from the glass bottle breaking. BB can't run at full speed, but he takes a moment to hide behind his dad's car. He pulls out his phone and calls the one number he can as his last resort.

"Blaine?" The voice says worried.

"Steve. I don't have much time to talk…if any." BB says talking as fast as possible.

"What's going on?" Steve asks in return wondering what is going on.

"I'm doing something that I'm probably gonna regret, but it had to be done." Blaine replies looking over the car to see if his dad is outside—he wasn't.

"Blaine? Tell me you didn't. You could've waited until your uncle got here. Does he know?" Steve asks running to his kitchen table and grabbing his car keys—he was expecting the worst.

"He knows. He won't get here soon enough. Can't stall that long. Gonna need hel…." BB said looking up once again to check, but as he looked, he was cut off by a second beer bottle to the forehead. BB fell to a heap onto the driveway. His dad saw the phone lying next to him on the ground and took the honor of stomping repeatedly and demolishing the phone. BB was dazed, but not completely knocked out by the bottle shot; he can see the blood dripping onto the ground. He tried to run, but had no strength left to move. His dad looked like he was going to say something, but instead he grabbed the pipe he hid and started holding the pipe against BB's throat trying to choke him out. BB tried to fight back and hold off as much as possible. Seconds later, BB's spirit started to break and he lost to will to fight back. He started losing consciousness as he thought one more thing.

" _I'm sorry, Mom. I let you down."_

And then things went black for BB.

* * *

 **There is Chapter 6. Don't worry things will get better for BB. Hopefully you all liked the chapter. Stayed tuned for the next chapter! I will try to get it out ASAP. Thanks for reading!**


	7. The Fall and Crawling Back Again

**I'm back with my next installment of It's For the Best. Enjoy!**

* * *

 _BB wakes up to see that he is in a room that is empty and white. When he gets to his feet, a long hallway opens up in front of him. BB walks down the hallway until reaches a mirror at the end. BB looks at his reflection and sees that he has no scars or bruises from the fight with his dad. He goes to touch the mirror, but the mirror breaks into millions of pieces and the pieces disappear. Behind the mirror, a secret room is revealed and there is a figure inside. BB recognizes that figure instantly._

" _Mom?" BB questions to the figure. The figure slowly turns to show that the person was indeed his mother. BB runs up to her as fast as possible. When he reaches her, his mom smiles and put her hand on his cheek. After that, his mom quickly vanishes. BB looks around stunned and confused as to what just happened. "Mom? Where did you go? Come back! Come BACK!" BB screams as he looks around frantically for his mother. BB gives up a moment later and sits down with his forehead in the palms of his hand._

" _I get it now. I must have died and this is their cruel way of letting me know. This is just cruel." BB thought as he laid back and stared at the white nothingness above his head. As he started to daze away, the walls around him start changing from white to blood red. BB looks around confused before he looks down at himself and sees the white shirt and shorts he was wearing turn the same color of blood red as the walls. BB jumps up and runs back into the hallway as fast as possible. Before he gets to leave, he meets face to face with his father._

" _Wh-what are you doing here?" BB stutters to his father. Johnny smiles and laughs before pulling his arm back for a punch. BB tries to run, but some weird force is holding him still; all he can do is watch the punch come at full force._

" _NOOOO!" BB yells before everything fades to black._

BB eyes jerk open and he looks around at the white room as he did before. This time around, there are windows and he hears an annoying beep coming from somewhere. BB tried to adjust himself, but he moaned in pain as he tried to move his arm. He looked down and saw that his arm had an IV attached. It was then he fully realized that he was in the hospital because of everything that happened.

" _OK…so I'm not dead. That's good, but I can feel major pain and that's bad. But that dream was so real. Scary real. I wonder why I was dre…."_ BB thought before he heard a chair move on the other side of the room. He looked over to the right and saw Mike getting out of the chair and almost running to BB's bedside.

"Blaine?" Mike asks solemnly looking down at his nephew before BB gives him a weak smirk and nod. "Oh Blaine! I'm happy to see you're awake. I've been worried about you. You've been asleep for almost two days." Mike says hugging BB as gently as possible. BB's eyes go wide when he heard that he has been asleep for two days. BB wanted to say something, but was interrupted by the doctor walking into the room.

"Hello, Blaine. I'm glad to see you're finally awake. How are you feeling?" The doctor asks walking to the machines so he can look at BB's heart rate and other vital signs.

"OK. I guess." BB answered very hoarse. He grabbed his throat after talking because he didn't realize how much it hurt for him to talk right now. The doctor looked at BB sympathetically and pat him on the shoulder.

"My apologies. I forgot what happened to you. Of course it'll hurt to talk for a couple more days." The doctor said.

"What all injuries did he sustain, Doctor?" Mike asks looking at all the work the hospital staff did to help his nephew.

"Mild throat injury. It's nothing serious, but it will probably hurt for him to talk for at most a couple days. Let's see…broken left arm, severely sprained right ankle, 3 bruised ribs, a Grade One Concussion, 5 stitches on his right temple, fractured nose, and of course the scrapes and bruises you see in front of you. He's honestly a very lucky kid." The doctor says. At that time, Steve comes into the room and finds the two people he had been looking for.

"Sorry to interrupt doctor, but I need to talk to these two privately if you don't mind." Steve asks the doctor. The doctor nods in approval.

"No problem, Officer Blackman. I need to keep making my rounds. As for this young man, he should be able to leave the hospital tomorrow or two days at most. We just want to keep him here for observation now that he's fully awake." The doctor answers smiling as he leaves the room. Steve walks over to Mike and pats his longtime friend on the back while looking at BB.

"What all did the doctor have to say?" Steve asked Mike. Mike looks down at BB and shakes his head.

"That Blaine was lucky. The injuries look bad, but they could've been much worse. Broken arm, sprained ankle, concussion, stitches, injured ribs…again, and bruised everything else. What exactly did you see when you got to the house?" Mike asks wondering what the scene was before he arrived in Tulsa.

"First off, when I got there, Johnny was long gone. It was just Blaine. I think Johnny somehow knew someone was coming, so he split before he could be caught at the scene of the crime. The rest is probably going to be hard for you to hear, Blaine. Mike…he left his son a bloody and injured mess. Blaine was unconscious in the driveway. There was beer bottle shards all around him—which explains the stitches. There was also a thin metal pipe next to Blaine…I believe that Johnny was trying to choke out his son with said pipe. As for the other injuries…I don't know how they occurred." Steve says softly.

BB couldn't look at Steve or Mike at the moment. He should've known his dad would have gone off and left him for dead; it didn't take the sting away from it actually happening. All BB could do was stare at the window in the hospital room. When he turned, he got the first glance of the cast he was wearing on his left arm. Mike saw the emotion in BB's eyes and he motioned for Steve to talk with him outside the room.

"Have you had any luck on finding out where he could be?" Mike asks in a whisper as Steve shook his head no.

"Not yet unfortunately. We've put out APBs and BOLOs for him. Dawn Marie is interrogating Terri Runnels as we speak. Hopefully we can find him and put him away for a while. As horrible as it sounds, him going to prison is probably the best thing for him." Steve replies with a solemn look on his face. Mike nods in agreement as he looks at the door to BB's hospital room.

"What about Blaine? What's going to happen to him?" Mike asks Steve.

"Right now, he should just get some rest. We'll take the next course of action when we cross that bridge. I can at least tell you that things will hopefully be looking brighter for Blaine. I've gotta get going. I'll see you later." Steve replies patting Mike's shoulder and walking towards the elevator. Mike walks back into BB's room and sees that BB has gone back to sleep. Mike sighs and sits in the chair next to the bed.

" _Hopefully this will all be over for you soon, Blaine."_ Mike thought looking at his nephew before dozing off in the chair.

* * *

A day and a half later, BB is sitting in the bed while the doctor is checking his vitals.

"You should be happy to know that after careful observation, you will be able to go home today. How do you feel about that?" The doctor asks. BB, sitting on the side of the bed, smirks at the doctor and gives him a thumbs up with the hand in the cast as the doctor rolls his eyes and chuckles.

"Blaine, I told you yesterday that you could talk since there was no major injury to your vocal chords. I've gotta finish my rounds, but I'll see you whenever you get discharged. See you later." The doctor says as BB smiles and the doctor leaves the room. BB rolls his eyes and sits back on the bed looking at the ceiling. Moments later, BB hears a knock on the door.

"Come in." BB says in a gruff and hoarse way since those were the first two words he has said since he has woken up at the hospital. The door opens and Kaitlyn walks into the room with a balloon and a stuffed hippo.

"Blaine?" Kaitlyn asks cautiously walking into the room. BB smiles and nods as Kaitlyn runs full speed to her cousin and gives him a hug. "Oh my god. I have been so worried about you. Are you ok?"

"Yeah I'm fi…OW! Katie, you're squeezing my bandages." BB says with a mix of joking and pain. Kaitlyn blushes in embarrassment and quickly lets BB go.

"Sorry about that. How bad does it hurt?" Kaitlyn asks as BB stands up from the bed.

"Sore as hell since they got reinjured after they just healed, but nothing I can't live through. Do you wanna see?" BB asks starting to lift up the hospital gown.

"Blaine, NO! Put that down! I don't wanna see anything if you aren't wearing anything underneath." Kaitlyn replies shouting and covering her eyes. BB rolls his eyes and lifts the gown anyway revealing both the bandages covering his ribs and the gym shorts he was wearing under the gown. Kaitlyn peeks through her fingers and breathes a sigh of relief seeing that her cousin was decent. "Did they tell you how injured you are?" Kaitlyn asks looking at the bruising on his arms, legs, and face.

"Let me put it to you this way…the only thing that hasn't been beaten, bruised, broken, or scarred is my smile." BB answers trying to smile as big as possible while Kaitlyn laughs.

"Leave it to you to get put in the hospital and still smile and think of the bright side." Kaitlyn says hugging Blaine around the shoulders.

" _If you only knew the truth."_ BB thought as he returns Kaitlyn's hug. At that moment, Mike enters the room talking on his phone.

"Yeah we should be home by the end of the week. I'll talk to you later. Bye." Mike says hanging up the phone and looking at the teens. "Aunt Cheryl sends her love. How are you feeling, son?"

BB tries not to cringe at the word "son." _"Please don't call me, son. I'm nobody's son right now. I feel alone right now and that's how I want to be…alone. I appreciate the kind words and everyone trying to help, but it makes me feel worse."_ BB thought before giving Mike a quick smile. "Sore, but happy to be alive."

"That's good. Any word on when you will be released?" Mike asks.

"Doctor said within the next few hours. I can't wait. Had enough hospital visits for a lifetime." BB jokes as everybody laughs.

* * *

Hours later, BB has been discharged from the hospital and everybody is walking to Mike's car as everybody sees Steve waiting by the car. He catches Mike and walks over to the group.

"Hey Steve." BB and Kaitlyn say both giving Steve a quick hug.

"Hey you two. Glad you're out of that hospital, Blaine?" Steve asks as BB nods. Steve smiles and walks over to Mike.

"I got some news regarding this whole…situation." Steve whispers to Mike before looking at BB. "Blaine…we need to talk. Kaitlyn you might wanna hear this too since it will involve you somewhat as well." Steve says in a very serious tone.

"What's going on?" Kaitlyn asks.

"This will be hard to say and hard to hear. Blaine, we have a warrant out for the arrest of your father. It seems like after that night, he fled the state." Steve says rubbing BB's shoulder.

"How does that involve us?" Kaitlyn asks confused about the whole situation as Mike walks over to her and wraps his arm around her.

"I'm getting to that. As of this morning, Blaine, your father has officially lost custody of you. We have the proof this time around that chances of him getting you back are slim. Now to the part about Mike and Katie. The courts wanted to make you part of the state and sent him to a foster home, but after explaining the case with the CPS and the courts, they decided to award full—not temporary—custody to you, Mike. Blaine is going back to Houston with you guys." Steve says as Kaitlyn screams in joy. Mike is extremely excited but is holding back, but he can't fight the smile on his face. BB, on the other hand, is trying to smile; he somehow can't smile and has a look of complete shock on his face.

" _This is exactly what I wanted, but why do I feel so…so empty inside. I should be excited, but I don't. I wonder what's wrong with me."_ BB thought.

"Blaine, isn't this great news? You get to comeback with us! Aren't you excited?" Kaitlyn asks hugging her cousin around the shoulders. BB makes face really quick and gives Kaitlyn a quick smile and hugs her back.

"I am excited, Katie. I'm just completely stunned. I mean I can't believe it." BB replies. Unbeknownst to BB, Mike caught his hesitation; he decided to question BB about that later.

"It is a lot to take in. Especially after staying in the hospital. Blaine, you will be jumping and cheering as soon as everything sinks in. Whenever you're ready, Steve, we'll head over." Mike says getting in his car.

"Where are we going?" BB asks wondering why Steve was coming along with them.

"Your house. I'm coming along to make sure everyone stays safe." Steve answers.

"So…you're my police escort and bodyguard just in case my dad miraculously comes back and wants to put me back in the hospital." BB says rolling his eyes.

"Don't be blunt about it, but yeah pretty much." Steve says getting into his cop car and closing the door. BB looked down at the ground before getting into the backseat of Mike's truck. He didn't mean to be an ass to Uncle Steve; BB feels things are starting to either come together or drastically fall apart for him.

* * *

It was hours after BB finished repacking his belongings and him, Mike, and Kaitlyn were all on the road back to Houston. BB was staring at the nighttime sky and the bright street lights thinking before he fell asleep.

 _BB was back in the same blank room he was in when he saw what he thought was his mother. This time around, the room is dark and dimly lit—like a dungeon—compared to the bright white room from last time. BB started to walk down the hallway again, but was stopped halfway by metal barred door blocking his path. BB tried to shake the door free, but it wouldn't budge. BB put his forehead against the bars in frustration when started hearing maniacal laughing._

" _Is someone here? Can somebody help me? I can't open the door!" BB screamed to the sky before a figured appeared next to the door. Another figure BB easily recognized._

" _Dad? Dad! Come on, open the door." BB said almost pleading. His dad started laughing and shaking his head no. After a moment, he starts turning to leave before BB catches his attention._

" _Why are you leaving me? You can't do this. YOU OWE ME AFTER EVERYTHING YOU PUT ME THROUGH! LET ME OUT!" BB screams to his father, who walks back to BB and jabs a finger in his chest._

" _I owe you NOTHING! You brought this on yourself. Now you must live with it." Johnny says walking away. After he's gone, BB still hears a continuous echo of his dad saying 'you brought this on yourself'. Not being able to stand it anymore, BB tries to run back the way he came; he runs into a wall. It takes BB a second to realize what's going on, but then it hits him…figuratively and literally…that the walls are closing in on him._

 _BB screams for help as the hallway gets smaller and smaller, but to no avail. He then hears a rumbling sound over his head. He looks up and finds a stone ceiling shaking and rattling ready to crumble. BB eyes widen in fright as the ceiling starts falling towards him and all he can do is scream._

BB sits up and tries to catch his breath because the nightmare seemed very real. He looks around and sees that he is back in the bedroom he stayed in the first time he was in Houston. He got out of bed slowly and looked at the cast on his left arm.

" _Yep…this part was certainly NOT a dream."_ BB thought as he walked towards the mirror. Staring at his reflection, he looked exactly as he felt—hit by a truck then ran through a blender. BB pulled the elastic band out of his hair so he could attempt to tame and fix the disaster on his head which now has a layer of sweat thanks to the nightmare.

Thirty minutes later, BB steps out of the shower after having a short fight with a comb. After getting dressed in shorts and shirt…and removing the plastic bags from his casted arm…BB looked at the clock and groaned.

" _UGH! It's nine in the morning! How long have I slept? Either too long or not long enough. Yeah…too long. I have a splitting headache. Guess I better go downstairs and try to become a living member of society."_ BB thought rolling his eyes as he started walking downstairs. When he reached the kitchen, he got a glass of water and was on a search for something to help his headache when he was startled by a voice.

"Tylenol is in the bottom shelf of the middle cabinet by the fridge." Mike said as BB jumped. BB quickly turned around and saw Mike smirking by the sink doing the dishes.

"Thanks. How did you know what I was looking for?" BB asked after finding the Tylenol and taking a couple while drinking water.

"With the look you had on your face, you were either a bad headache or a hangover. You've slept since before we got back to Houston…about fourteen hours; I'm guessing you have a pretty nasty headache." Mike says sympathetically.

"Yeah a little bit, but I can manage. Thanks for the help." BB says starting to walk back upstairs before being cut off by Mike.

"Wait, Blaine. Before you go, I've been meaning to ask you something. Are you alright?" Mike asks finally getting his chance to ask about what he saw a few days ago.

"Umm yeah. I'm sore as hell and it's a pain to shower with a bag on my arm, but I'm ok." BB answers with a shrug and Mike shakes his head.

"No. I mean are you mentally alright? I'm just a little worried because incidences like these can be traumatic regardless of age." Mike replies.

"Seriously. I'm good." BB answers quickly trying to end the subject. "Thanks for the help, but I'm going back upstairs." BB says walking away. Mike can only nod, knowing that he isn't going to win the fight today; he knows that his nephew is eventually going to break.

* * *

Hours later, BB is upstairs reading a comic book as Kaitlyn walks by his door.

"Glad to see you're finally awake." Kaitlyn remarks walking into the room and sitting next to BB. "I see you're catching up on the latest adventures of Tony Stark and Iron Man. I don't blame you. It seems like all you have been doing the last week has been sleep. Why don't you come out running with me and Seth?" Kaitlyn asks.

BB shakes his head no while holding up his cast. "Thanks, Katie, but no thanks. Besides, the doctor told to take it easy for at least another week or two to let my ribs for sure get healed before doing anything strenuous."

"I understand. Hey! A bunch of us are going to the movies tonight. Why don't you come with us?" Kaitlyn asks trying to get her cousin to be more sociable. She has a feeling that something is off about him, but she can't figure it out.

"Nah. I kinda just want to be lazy tonight." BB said sitting back looking at the ceiling. As much as he wants to go, he's too wrapped up in his own thoughts to even attempt fun; BB doesn't fully realize it. Kaitlyn loves her cousin, but his negative attitude is starting to get on her nerves.

"Come on, Blaine! You've been lazy for the past three days." Kaitlyn exclaims getting annoyed which is equally annoying BB.

"I've been asleep for two of them! And I'm sorry if I don't feel like leaving the house. I thought you would be understanding." BB replied raising his voice.

"I am, but this is getting ridiculous. You usually bounce back after something bad happens. What is wrong with you?" Kaitlyn asks raising her voice as well.

"NOTHING IS WRONG WITH ME! Nothing was wrong when Uncle Steve asked me after I finished packing. Nothing was wrong when Uncle Mike asked me this morning and nothing is wrong now. I appreciate all the sympathy now I would appreciate it if everybody would leave me alone." BB screams before getting out of bed, stomping out of the bedroom, and slamming the door to the bathroom.

Kaitlyn rolls her eyes before groaning in defeat and walking back downstairs. At the end of the stairs, she finds Seth waiting for her.

"So how'd it go?" Seth asks as Kaitlyn wraps her arms around Seth and hugs him.

"About as well as expected. I just wish he would open up and talk instead of yelling at everybody." Kaitlyn replied with a sad tone in her voice. Seth notices and kisses her temple.

"I know you want to know now, but four days ago he was unconscious in a hospital room. If I had to guess, he's probably brooding in his own thoughts. The best thing I can tell you to do is let him come to you. Trust me, when he's ready to talk, he'll be ready to talk." Seth says assuring Kaitlyn that everything will be alright. Kaitlyn responds by kissing Seth on the lips.

"You're right. He's probably still shell shocked over the whole ordeal. I guess that's all I can really give him right now. Come on let's go." Kaitlyn says opening the front door and leaving the house.

* * *

It's been a week since Kaitlyn and BB had their confrontation. Kaitlyn has been trying her best to give him time to come to terms with everything. BB, on the other hand, has been trying his hardest to get a good night of sleep. Every night, BB has the same reoccurring nightmare with him locked in a dungeon cell, being laughed at by his dad, and hearing the same creepy echo of 'you brought this upon yourself.' As the nights progress, the nightmare goes a little longer and a little worse. The nightmares have gotten so bad, that BB has resulted to extreme measures to get sleep.

Everything hit a breaking point for BB one afternoon when he fell asleep while watching some movie in the living room. The nightmare played out how it usually does with the dungeon, the laughing father saying he brought it upon himself, and the cell crumbling and falling on top of him. This time, it took a more sadistic turn.

 _BB wakes up after the cell ceiling caves on top of him. He goes to touch his face and his fingers come back covered in blood. He tries to stand up, but some force is keeping him pinned to the ground. He looks and notices a foot planted on his chest. He follows the leg up and finds his father holding him down._

" _Why didn't you help me? I could've been killed!" BB asks straining to talk as his father laughs down at him._

" _That kill you? I wouldn't let that kill you…because I want to do the honors." His father says before pulling a familiar lead pipe from his back. BB looks on in horror knowing that there's nothing he can do. BB's father rears back for the finishing shot, and as the pipe comes closer and closer, all BB can do is scream._

BB snaps out of his nightmare screaming before he gets struck. He's caught up screaming and snapping out of his nightmare that he barely recognizes a voice talking to him.

"Blaine? Blaine calm down. It's all good. Come here." The voice says as BB grabs on and hugs the person to try to calm himself down. After a moment, BB breaks from the hug to wipe away the tears from his eyes before locking eyes on to the person sitting next to him. After realizing who it was, BB yells in fright.

"Seth? What the hell are you doing here?" BB asks in an almost panic as Seth tries to hold in a small laugh.

"I wasn't exactly who you were expecting was I?" Seth asks with a smirk on his face. "Are you ok?"

"Ye-Yeah I'm ok. I just had a little nightmare. Where's Katie?" BB replies trying to make light of the actual situation brewing, but it was too late. BB didn't completely lose it in front of a family member, he lost it in front of his cousin's boyfriend.

"She ran down to the Redbox really quick for a couple movies. She asked me to keep an eye out for you, and that was NOT a little nightmare. You were screaming like a banshee and shouting 'Please don't kill me' over and over." Seth answers with a raise of his eyebrow. BB started to turn red after Seth told him heard everything. All BB wanted to do was get away as fast as possible.

"I'll be back. I've gotta get something in the kitchen." BB said quickly before almost sprinting to the kitchen. Seth rolled his eyes and started to follow. When he entered the kitchen, he saw BB ransacking different cabinets trying to find something.

"Damn it! I swear I put them in here." BB said under his breath.

"Looking for this?" Seth asks. When BB turned, he saw Seth shaking a bottle of pills at him.

"Yeah. I've got this headache that has been a bitch to get rid of. Thanks so much." BB said trying to grab the bottle, but Seth moved them out of the way.

"You're lying! Blaine, you've been taking sleeping pills to help you sleep at night. I asked her if you been getting sleep. She said you have and I got suspicious before asking if you guys had sleeping pills. She showed me them before I took them myself." Seth explains. BB gets annoyed at the fact that Seth is butting into something that has nothing to do with him.

"OK. Why in the hell are you and Katie playing keep away with those? I've needed some extra help getting sleep. What's the big deal?" BB asks trying to once again play off his situation. Seth starts to get mad because this kid doesn't believe he has a problem.

"It's a HUGE deal. You're starting to become addicted. It's only one night before it turns into the rest of your life before there being a chance of you overdosing. Blaine, Kaitlyn is worried sick about you. She thinks all you need is time. I don't want you to devastate her like this." Seth answers with a mix of anger and sympathy.

"She doesn't need to worry. I'm gonna be fine." BB says trying to walk out of the kitchen, but Seth steps in front of him.

"Who are you trying to fool? Me…Kaitlyn…or yourself?" Seth asks not being fooled by any of BB's answers. BB sighs and looks at the ground. He'd been caught and he can't get away. He turns away from Seth and looks out the window. He can't look him in the eyes for what he's about to say.

"The last 5 years of my life hasn't exactly been the easiest for me. It seems like everything is starting to fall apart. In the last month, I've been made to feel like shit. Like I wasn't wanted. Even though I love Kaitlyn with all my heart. I felt like the only person I could trust and depend on in this world was myself because everybody else would either turn against me or leave me. When I got to come back here, I thought I would be ecstatic; all I had was this empty feeling. A feeling I have been trying to shake away the last two weeks." BB said trying not to break. Seth walked behind him and pat him on the shoulder.

"That's when the nightmares begin and you run into no other choice than to use any means necessary to dull the pain of hurt and anguish." Seth replies looking up at the ceiling. BB thought it was weird that he hit the feeling right on the head, but he didn't divulge any further.

"Right. It's been the same nightmare every night. Being locked in a dungeon, my father laughing at me, the room crumbling on top of me, and tonight my dad was actually trying to kill me. The sad thing is…in real life I believe he was gonna try to do it, too." BB said as his voice started to break. "In the dream, he said I brought this all on myself; before I was knocked unconscious, he said I was a mistake. That I brought my mother to her death."

"When the time comes that everything fully registers, you feel so low that nothing can make you happy and you become a burden to everybody else. You don't want to face reality, so you do things that you normally wouldn't do to numb the pain—like drugs, alcohol, etc…" Seth replies with a sentimental tone in his voice. BB turns around to look at Seth, briefly forgetting that tears are flowing from his eyes.

"How in the hell are you so accurate? I thought nobody else would understand this, but you read me like a book." BB asks hoarsely while Seth looks down at him and shakes his head.

"You're wrong. I actually have. Consider yourself special because I don't tell very many people this. Fuck, I didn't tell Kaitlyn this until we were dating a year. You see my dad was a horrible alcoholic. A very mean drunk. My dad was very violent and it went on for years. We hoped things would get better. When they did, the falls become much more violent and worse. I couldn't tell you how many times I was called a disaster by him. It was a yoyo effect. Me and my mom were in more emergency rooms than I care to count. She reached a breaking point and decided to take me and we moved away from Iowa and never looked back. Things were good, but then I felt like you feel now. I used any way I could to feel better. Alcohol was my weapon of choice. Like father like son." Seth said with a rough laugh.

"But how did you finally tell somebody about how you were feeling?" BB asked.

"Like you, I wouldn't say a word to family. My mom was a counselor, so she had a friend of hers try and talk to me. It took three months, but I felt like I could trust him. After that, I felt so much better—long story short." Seth said a little emotionally remembering his bad past before continuing. "After hearing what Kaitlyn told me, I had a feeling you were going through the same thing and something like this would happen; I wanted to try to make you feel a little more at ease."

"You know I do feel a little bit better. Not going to lie, I still feel like garbage; I really appreciate the help." BB said with gratefulness in his voice. Seth pats him on the back before giving him a quick hug.

"That feeling will be there for a while, but it will fade away. Don't let your past ruin your future. That's what my mom says. Besides what are friends for? You're kinda like the little brother I didn't want." Seth replies with a chuckle. BB couldn't keep the smile off of his face. Seth said they were friends. It was weird, but BB was grateful that Seth decided to butt in.

* * *

Hours later after Seth left. Kaitlyn found her cousin in his bedroom staring out the window looking at the stars.

"Beautiful night isn't it?" Kaitlyn asks. BB turns to Kaitlyn and giving her a quick smirk before looking back out the window.

"It is. It's been a long time since I truly took in the night sky. It's amazing." BB replies lost in his own thoughts. Kaitlyn comes up and sits next to him.

"So how are you feeling?" Kaitlyn asks.

"I'm doing…better." BB reluctantly replies. He knew he gave a very vague answer and that her question was heavily loaded; he wasn't sure if he was ready to admit all the issues he's been through in his own mind for the last two weeks.

"I mean how are you REALLY feeling?" Kaitlyn asks again trying to nicely get her point across that she is trying to help, but BB has got to let her in. BB lets out a sigh and decides to finally let her know.

"I feel lost. I feel confused. I'm depressed beyond belief. It's like I'm in a state of purgatory right now. I should be feeling the happiest I've ever been, but I'm not because I have had these horrible feelings." BB confesses. He doesn't look at Kaitlyn face to face because he feels ashamed that he didn't tell her until now, but he can see in the reflection of the window that Kaitlyn is hurt by her cousin's revelation.

"What feelings are those?" Kaitlyn asks trying to keep the hurt out of her voice.

"That I am worthless. That my life is a lie. That I'm only staying in Houston because you guys are my last resort instead of a boy's home. Come on, Katie. If your dad told you that you were one of the biggest mistakes of his life before he put you in the hospital, wouldn't you feel shitty too?" BB answers getting annoyed with all his feelings bubbling up to the outside. He doesn't mean to get rude towards Kaitlyn, but she's just the unfortunate person in front of him at the moment.

Kaitlyn can't believe what she just heard. She had a feeling that he had something going on with him, but she didn't figure that it was this bad. Part of her wanted to hug him and make him feel better while the other part of her wanted to punch him in the face for thinking such stupid things. She decided to go with the first option while remembering to do the second option later.

"I can't say that I know what you are going through, but I won't because I don't. Blaine, I love you and I want you to know and comprehend that you will NEVER be a burden to us. We are all glad that you are living here right now. If you don't believe me, I will repeat it over and over until it sinks in through your thick skull. You understand?" Kaitlyn says while hugging BB. BB lets out a small laugh and leans into the hug before kissing Kaitlyn on the cheek.

"I understand. I really appreciate your help, Katie. I think I'm gonna feel better, but it's gonna take me a bit to get all this negative thinking out of my system." BB said sincerely. Thanks to Seth and now Kaitlyn, today was the first time since waking up in the hospital that he truly felt like he had people caring and looking out for him.

"I know it will probably take a while for you, but I just want you to be happy." Kaitlyn replied. BB didn't say anything after that, but he did let the comfort Kaitlyn gave him sink in as the both just stared in silence at the night sky.

* * *

The next morning, BB was walking downstairs as Mike called out to him.

"Blaine, do you have a moment? I need to talk to you." Mike said with a serious tone. BB was nervous, but he walked into Mike's office and sat down.

"Blaine, I just want to let you know that you are not in trouble." Mike said as BB let out a sigh of relief. "Second, I wanted to tell you that you are completely wrong." BB looks weirdly at his uncle because he has no idea what in the world he is talking about.

"Wrong? About what?" BB asks. Mike stands up and walks around his desk. He leans down next to his nephew and looks him in the eyes.

"Just so you know, you being here was and never will be a considered a burden. We are extremely happy that you are staying with us." Mike said sincerely as BB's eyes widen. He couldn't believe Mike found out everything.

"H-How did you find out that? Did Kaitlyn tell you?" BB asks in an almost panic as Mike shakes his head.

"No she didn't. I overheard you talking to her last night. I'm glad I did. Blaine, why didn't you tell me you felt that way?" Mike asks. BB started to break down after being overwhelmed with major guilt.

"I didn't want to because I was still trying to come to terms with everything. I felt like if I did you would think that I didn't want to be here. Believe me, I'm happy to be here. I just…." BB tried to explain before being cut off by Mike.

"Listen to me. You are stronger than you give yourself credit for. Don't let what happened to you change your thinking. There are still people here that care about you. You don't have to be alone. Don't lock yourself away. Son, if you have anything, and I mean anything going on with you, you talk to somebody. Understand me?" Mike asks as BB looks at him with tear filled eyes. It's not the mild scolding that he got that got him to start crying. It was one specific word that Mike used that caused him to lose his strength.

"Yes sir." BB manages to say before fully breaking down. Mike doesn't say a word, but he grabs his nephew close and hugs him tight. No words were said for many moments after that, but during that time, Mike made it his goal to show his nephew a new outlook regarding father figures. Outside the office Kaitlyn stands to the side and smiles at the conclusion that her father will not let him fall. She made that conclusion long ago to help her cousin find the brighter side of life again.

* * *

 **Here is Chapter Lucky 7. Thank you for reading. Like always I apologize in advance if anything sounds awkward or weird. Tell me what you think. Things will get better for Blaine in the upcoming storyline. Hopefully you all enjoy. Keep a look out for Chapter 8 in the coming weeks.**


	8. One Book Ends, Another Begins

**Ladies and gentlemen...here is Chapter 8! FINALLY! Please read and enjoy!**

* * *

It has been two weeks since BB let his feelings be known, and he is starting to feel better after every passing day. As Seth told him, the pain will still be there for a while; pain slowly fades away. BB was starting to become more sociable with his new group of friends—especially Evan. The first time he saw Evan since returning to Houston, it was like BB never left and the two became almost immediate best friends. The two usually spent time goofing around at Evan's comic book store with Evan usually explaining different backstories of heroes and telling BB which sets to read; BB trying to remember everything about everybody. Also, Kaitlyn has been happy that her boyfriend and her cousin are getting along and bonding really well. A few times, BB has joined the couple on their workouts or tagging along at the gym. Things were starting to look up for the young teenager.

One day, BB finished showering after going to the gym with Seth; he went downstairs to the kitchen looking for the rubber band to tie his hair back when he was stopped by Kaitlyn.

"Hey! How are you feeling?" Kaitlyn asks hugging her cousin.

"I'm alright. A little sore thanks to your personal trainer boyfriend and his helping with getting back into shape. What's up with you?" BB asks in reply.

"Great. Quick quiz! What was the breakfast that me and you went completely crazy for when we were little on Saturday mornings?" Kaitlyn replies with a big smile on her face. It took BB a bit to remember what it was because it had been about nine or ten years since they did something like that.

"Wait! Are you talking about the chocolate chip pancakes with gummy worms on top?" BB looks at Kaitlyn with an equally big smile on his face. Kaitlyn grabs him by the arm and drags him into the kitchen where there are two big plates of chocolate chip pancakes with gummy worm topping. One of the plates has a small candle in the middle. "What's all this?"

"Well, I'm happy that you have doing much better the last few weeks and what a better way to celebrate than which childhood junk food memories." Kaitlyn said. "By the way…happy birthday, Blaine." She finished as she kissed him on the cheek. BB looked at the calendar and saw the date—August 1st. BB looked again at the candle and mentally slapped himself.

" _DUH! Why didn't I put everything together when I saw the candle? Shit…it's my birthday today. Wow…what kind of teenager forgets their birthday?"_ BB thought as he hugged Kaitlyn in return.

"Thanks, Katie! I really appreciate it. You didn't have to go through so much trouble for me. It's not like I'm turning any important age." BB said trying to downplay his cousin's generosity. Kaitlyn punched him in the shoulder.

"The modest thing you do can be very annoying, Blaine. Besides, it IS important because you are turning seventeen. Seventeen is the year you will begin a new life for yourself. Besides this is the only the beginning. I have another surprise for you so hurry up and eat." Kaitlyn answered walking over to the kitchen cabinets. BB rolls his eyes and laughs while sitting at the table.

"Quiz time for you, Katie! Did you remember the…." BB started to ask as Kaitlyn shakes a jar of hot fudge at him while putting it in the microwave. "You did remember."

"How could I forget? We have to be the two weirdest kids on the planet. We hate hot fudge on our ice cream but we will use up a jar easy on pancakes." Kaitlyn reminisces as she pulls the jar out of the microwave and walks back to the table where BB is eating the gummy worms off of his pancakes.

"Not weird at all. We are unique." BB replies laughing and taking the fudge from Kaitlyn. The two teens spend the next hour eating and talking about times when they were little.

* * *

After doing the dishes and finishing a movie, Kaitlyn looks at her phone and decides to wake BB up—who fell asleep when the credits started. Kaitlyn smiles and tries to get off the couch without waking her cousin. She walks to the door and looks through the window before opening the door.

"Hey. Shh! He's sleeping right now on the couch, but give me a few minutes and he will be up…wait I have a better idea. Come with me!" Kaitlyn says to the person who she invited in. They walk over to BB and the guest sits next to BB—who is still sleeping. Kaitlyn tries to hold in her laughter as she taps BB on the shoulder. BB snaps out of his nap and looks around quickly. BB turns to his left and locks eyes with the guest.

"Hey Laddy!" The guest with a thick Irish accent. BB yelps and jumps out of his blanket before quickly realizing who it was.

"Becky?" BB asks and Becky nods. BB yells with excitement and hugs Becky. "Becky Lynch. You scared the shit out of me. I almost wanna kick your lass, but I love you too much. How have you been?"

"I'm doing good, laddy. I just moved back and I heard you moved down here too, so I decided to give my favorite twins a visit and tell twin number two happy birthday!" Becky said with a wide smile. Becky knew that BB and Kaitlyn weren't twins, but when she first met them, they looked so alike that she started calling them twins and it stuck. Since BB was younger than Kaitlyn, he got the honor of being twin two.

"So how long are you staying in Houston this time around?" BB asked.

"Until I graduate. My dad decided that since I'm going to be a senior that I should stay in a place and finish with my friends." Becky said smiling which BB equally returned.

Besides Kaitlyn, Becky was one of his best friends whenever he visited Houston. They became friends when they discovered that they both had an enjoyment of hearing and saying puns. She moved away when they were eight, so he's only seen Becky a few times since then when they both visited.

"So what are your plans for today?" Becky asks. BB shrugs in indifference.

"Nothing really. I didn't think too much about it. It's not like I can go out and play baseball considering I have this for another two weeks." BB answers holding up his cast.

"Damn. That sucks. Wait! What do you mean that you don't have plans for your birthday? You're turning seventeen not forty. Why are you being so lame?" Becky asks.

"Well the last few months haven't been…." BB tried to explain before being cut off by Becky.

"No excuses! I just decided that we are going to hang out. All day! Now change your clothes and were going to have a becktastic day." Becky said pulling BB off the couch by his good arm.

"Do I get a…." BB tries to ask, but once again gets cut off by Becky.

"You get no vote or no choice, Blaine. Go change! Don't make me get the other twin in here to carry you upstairs." Becky replies laughing. BB rolls his eyes and smiles before going upstairs to change. As BB leaves, Kaitlyn comes back into the living room.

"Did you convince Blaine?" Kaitlyn asks Becky. Becky smiles wide and nods in response. Kaitlyn smiles and high fives Becky. "I knew you could do it. Thanks so much, Becky."

"No problem, twin one. From what you told me, twin two need a little happiness to brighten his mood; he's going to start today with a great birthday BEX-perience." Becky replies laughing at her own pun to which Kaitlyn smirks.

An hour later, the three teens stopped at a restaurant to eat lunch before continuing with their day. As they are waiting for their food, they start to kick up a conversation.

"You know, years ago from a distance you two could have been identical twins. Now it's too easy to tell you both apart. Why did you decide to add blonde to your hair, Kaitlyn?" Becky asks.

"It was during Spring Break and I decided I wanted to do something different; I chose to color my hair blonde. You know…to be spontaneous." Kaitlyn replied taking a drink of water as BB tried to not laugh. "What is so funny?"

"Spontaneous? I thought you said you added blonde because Uncle Mike told you no on getting matching tattoos with Seth." BB answered as Kaitlyn punched him in the shoulder.

"Shut up, Blaine! You're such an ass." Kaitlyn says getting mad as BB and Becky laugh into hysterics.

"Ohh. Seth. Is that his name? Are you guys getting serious?" Becky asks Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn starts to turn red.

"Yeah. That's his name. You can say we are getting serious." Kaitlyn replies.

"How serious?" Becky asks again.

"Serious enough that Uncle Mike trusts Seth, but any more serious will lead him to be out in Seth's yard with a shotgun at 2 A.M." BB answers for Kaitlyn as she punches BB again.

"There's nothing wrong with that. At least with hair you can dye it if things go wrong. Is his hair like yours?" Becky asks.

"Nope. Mine is layered. His is divided down the middle. The left side is dark brown while the right side is blonde." Kaitlyn answers as Becky looks at BB.

"So are you gonna keep the trend going Twin 2? Gonna color your hair blonde and you all can be the new Three Musketeers? I know! You guys can be the Two Tone Triplets!" Becky says laughing until she can't breathe. BB looks at her and rolls his eyes.

"Yeah. That probably won't happen. So keep dreaming." BB replies to which Kaitlyn starts laughing along with Becky. "It's not that funny!"

"Actually it is a little funny. That's not the point. Here comes the food." Becky says as the waiter brings the teens their food.

* * *

After eating, the teens walked around the mall for another hour before leaving and deciding to drive around town to kill time.

"Blaine, you've been in Houston about a month, right?" Becky asks as BB nods his head. "Are there any cute girls you've seen yet?"

BB turns red at the question before giving her an answer, "No. Not yet. I've been a little preoccupied with things to even think about looking for a girlfriend."

"No big deal. Besides, there's like what three weeks before school starts. When that happens, there will be no doubt in my mind that Twin Two will find himself a girlfriend. Mark my words." Becky replies winking at BB, which makes BB turn even redder.

"Yeah, right. I don't exactly look like Dolph or Seth; I'm not gonna get my hopes up." BB says starting to look at the window.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, lady. There are plenty of girls who go for the nice type over the athletic type." Becky replies as Kaitlyn looks back at BB and smiles at him.

"Have you two made any other plans for the badlad's birthday?" Becky asks Kaitlyn and BB. The two shakes their heads no and Becky shakes her head.

"Damn. You two are as fun as you were when we were little. I know! How about we kill some time at the new jumbo arcade on the other side of town?" Becky suggests. BB and Kaitlyn shrug…which Becky takes as a yes. She cheers and almost floors her car as they head to the arcade.

At the arcade, the three teens look around in amazement at the size and the variety of games available. After walking for a bit and playing different machines, the last thing they find is a giant air hockey table. The three teen all get an excited gleam in their eyes and they decide to play a match.

"How about we do some doubles air hockey. I think it should be lasses versus lads. What do you think?" Becky says walking to one side of the table.

"I like that idea. Come on, Blaine. Time to play." Kaitlyn replies walking to the same side of the table as Becky as BB rolls his eyes. "What's the problem, Blaine?"

"This isn't fair. As you can see, there's uneven sides. We're a guy short." BB says.

"How about you go find a partner. It shouldn't be hard to find one. There are teenage guys everywhere. Now hurry up and find one so we can get this show on the road." Kaitlyn says sticking her tongue out at her cousin as BB flips her off and laughs as he walks away to find an air hockey partner. Luckily for him, he didn't have to walk far at all.

"Hey, I'll team up with him. It's been a while since I've played; this will be fun." A guy says walking up and stands next to BB. BB takes a look at this unique guy. He's about the same height as BB and on the back of his shirt he has a weird face logo with one open and one eye closed. Kaitlyn slaps the table in frustration. BB looks at his cousin with a confused expression on his face.

"What's the matter, Katie?" BB asks.

"You have no idea how lucky you are that you got Johnny Wrestling to be on your team." Kaitlyn says shaking her head. The guy called Johnny Wrestling started laughing.

"Man this IS going to be a great day. I get to play some air hockey AND I get to deliver defeat to Miss Kaitlyn Bonin." Johnny says getting ready to play.

"Don't get too overconfident. You're playing with my cousin and he's never played team air hockey before; good luck." Kaitlyn replies trying to play mind games with Johnny.

"Not to worry. I'll show him the ropes. I'm Johnny by the way." Johnny says shaking BB's hand.

"Blaine. You can call me BB." BB replies as they get ready to play. It took BB a little bit to figure out what to do, but he finally figured out everything. It was a good thing that Johnny Wrestling was so good or they would have lost VERY quickly. He was almost scary good since he scored almost every point single handedly. The two teams were all tied up and both going for the match point as Becky served the puck and Johnny returned the serve then the four teens kept the round going. It took a matter of luck when Johnny's shot went the wrong way, and BB caught the puck off the wall's ricochet sending it the right way and into the goal to win the match for the boys. The victorious team high five after the game ends.

"Great job. You know what, BB? After you caught on, you aren't half bad." Johnny says patting BB on the back.

"Thanks. I should be thanking you. You saved my butt by being my partner. How did you get so good?" BB asks Johnny who laughs before he answers.

"And why Kaitlyn almost forfeited at the beginning?" Johnny asks and BB nods. "It's because I'm one of the best air hockey players in school. I won a schoolwide tournament in air hockey. Come to think of it, if my buddy Ciampa is busy, I might need to call you."

"One more question. Why did Kaitlyn call you Johnny Wrestling?" BB asks before Johnny starts laughing again.

"Believe me. The huge shocker might be that my last name is actually Gargano. They call me Johnny Wrestling because I am a state champion in my weight division and very technically sound. By the way, I've never seen you around. Are you new?" Johnny asks in reply as BB nods.

"Yeah I am new. I start school here in a few weeks." BB answers as Kaitlyn and Becky come back to the table.

"Come on, Blaine. We need to get going! It was good seeing you, Johnny." Kaitlyn says as BB looks at the time on his phone.

"I'm coming. See you later, Johnny. Thanks for the help." BB says before he walks away.

"No prob. We need to hang out more for sure. See ya. By the way…Happy Birthday!" Johnny says. BB stops mid jog and looks at Johnny wondering how the hell he knew it was his birthday. "I overheard your cousin talking to her friend." He answers BB's unasked question. BB rolls his eyes and laughs as he catches up with Kaitlyn and Becky.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, the three teams make it back to Kaitlyn and BB's house. As they get out of the car, BB tries to get either girl's attention.

"Wait a second!" BB says finally managing to grab Kaitlyn's arm. "Damn. I finally got ahold of you. Now I have been trying to ask you for the last twenty minutes why did we have to leave the arcade so early? We were having fun and so many machines we didn't get to play."

"It's not a big deal. Dad just asked us to get home as soon as possible. We can always go back. Don't be so dramatic." Kaitlyn says as she and Becky start laughing and BB rolls his eyes.

As they open the door, the teens are met with a mix of streamers and screams.

"SURPRISE!" Mike, Cheryl, Becky, Seth, and Kaitlyn yell, which startles BB a little bit. Mike and Cheryl walk over and give BB a hug which BB quickly returns.

"Wow. You guys didn't have to go to this much trouble for me. It's seriously not a big deal." BB says with a smile on his face—completely excited that this happened, but really didn't want the attention on him.

"Blaine, don't be so modest. We wanted to do this for you because you deserve it. You're seventeen today, so enjoy the day." Cheryl says kissing her nephew on the cheek. BB thinks about it for a minute before finally giving in.

"Alright. I see what you mean. You guys went to a lot of trouble to do this for me…is there cake?" BB asks which gets a laugh from the room.

"Come on, laddy. Would it a birthday party without a cake? I mean "Icing" nothing wrong with spoiling yourself on your birthday." Becky says before laughing at her pun and BB joins her shortly after. Mike goes into the middle of the room to catch everybody's attention.

"Speaking of cake, it's in the kitchen and ready to be eaten. I don't know about you, but I am starving. Let's get eating." Mike says leading the way to the kitchen with everybody following. Everybody gets around the table with BB getting in the middle. BB can't hide the smile on his face when he looks at the cake with the seventeen candles on top. Mike comes in and starts lighting the candles before everyone starts singing.

"Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to YOU. Happy Birthday dear Blaine! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!" The room sings before made his wish and blew out the candles.

"So what did you wish for?" Cheryl asks. BB looks over at her and shakes his head.

"I can't say or it won't come true." BB replies with a big smile on his face. At this moment, BB felt like he was where he was needing to be for a long time—surrounded by people who care about him and make him feel like he belongs and he deserves to be there. He would never admit it, but his wish was to keep the happiness he was feeling right now to stay forever.

"Alright. Now it's time to eat some cake. Who wants a corner piece?" Mike asks as he brings a knife over and starts cutting the cake. Cheryl follows behind with plates and starting to hand out the pieces. As everyone started eating and joking around, they heard the doorbell. Mike started to get up, but BB stopped him.

"I can get it. You're still eating." BB offered. Mike nodded his head and sat back down as BB jogged to the living room as the person kept ringing the doorbell.

"I'M COMING!" BB yells as he opens the door. When he sees who it is, his eyes go wide and he can't believe what he is seeing. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"You don't look so happy to see me. How have you been, Blaine?" His father asks walking unceremoniously into the house. BB starts to step back, knowing what his father his capable of doing to him.

"OK. I'll be doing better when you LEAVE!" BB replies walking himself back into the wall. Unbeknownst to both of them, Kaitlyn starts walking through the kitchen door she catches a glimpse of some guy talking—more like intimidating—her cousin. After a second of thinking about it, she realizes it is her uncle and she quickly runs back into the kitchen to tell her dad. When Mike sees the look on Kaitlyn's face, he knows that something is wrong.

"Kaitlyn, what's the matter? You look like you saw a ghost." Mike asks Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn responds by pointing to the living room.

"Two things. First, I thought Uncle Johnny was MIA and running from the police. Two, he's in the living room right now." Kaitlyn replies.

"He's here right now?" Mike asks to make sure he heard his daughter correctly and she nods in response. About three seconds later, Mike's eyes widen and he almost jumps out of his chair. "He's in there by himself with Blaine."

"Mike, what are you going to do?" Cheryl asks her husband. Mike grabs the phone from off the counter and hands it to Cheryl.

"You are going to call the police while I do everything in my power to NOT kill him." Mike answers leaving the kitchen.

Meanwhile, in the living room, father nor son have moved from their spots. BB keeps telling his father to leave, but he was having none of it.

"You keep saying I need to leave, but you haven't given me a good reason why I should. You're seventeen, little boy. Nothing can stop me from grabbing your arm and dragging your ass back to Tulsa." Johnny says reaching for his casted hand. BB cringes but he is ready to fight back; he is saved at the last moment by a voice interrupting the moment.

"Try it and it will be the biggest mistake you will ever make." Mike says getting right in his younger brother's face. BB almost gets caught in the middle, but Seth and Kaitlyn pull him back to where they were standing.

"This doesn't concern you, so why don't you just butt out?" Johnny asks as Mike continues to glare at him.

"Oh it does concern me. It concerned me when I was worried about Blaine's safety. It concerned me when you put him in the hospital. It concerned me when I got the paperwork saying that I have full custody of him, and it will always concern me until the day I die. The question on my mind is where the hell have you been and you better leave before it gets bad for you." Mike says defending his nephew. Johnny responds by laughing in Mike's face.

"Newsflash, asshole! He's not YOUR son! He's MINE and I can do what I damn well please with him whether you like it or not. Also, I'm not telling you where I went. Now, come on, Blaine. You're going with me." Johnny yells to his son, who doesn't move an inch. "Blaine, I'm not asking. I am DEMANDING! Come with me. We need to leave right now!" BB looks at Seth, Kaitlyn, and Mike before telling something he has never said to his dad before in his life.

"…no." BB quietly says as he shakes his head. Johnny's eyes widen and he is about three seconds away from losing his temper.

"No? What the fuck do you mean no?" His dad asks getting in his son's face. It took everything BB had to not back away. He was scared, but he knew he was safe; that was enough for him.

"I mean no. I can't do this and I won't do this anymore. I haven't been able to say this for a long time, but I am happy. I'm tired of being scared and I am tired of being your victim. I would think that putting your own flesh and blood in the hospital would be a reality check, but I don't think it did. Dad…whatever problems you have right now you're gonna have to go through them alone because I can't do this with you anymore." BB says. By the end of his statement, the confidence rang through his voice very clearly. After finishing, Seth gave BB a pat on the back while Kaitlyn wrapped her arm around him. Kaitlyn knew that it took her cousin a lot of courage to say what he did, but she knew that BB was doing his best to close out his past and look forward to his future.

Johnny looked at him with complete astonishment in his face. He can't believe his son has the audacity—much less the ability—to say that to him.

"D-do you really feel that way? You're done with me and what I've been doing to you?" Johnny asks calmly. BB nods in response.

"That's right I do feel that way. Even though you are my father, I shouldn't have to live in constant fear and terror wondering when you are going to snap next. I can't do this and I won't do this." BB replies. Johnny gives his son a look a guilt and disgust.

"You're sorry? You're sorry!" Johnny says before grabbing his son by the throat, strangling him. "You're GONNA be sorry after I'm through with you." He says as he tightens his grip and BB falls to a knee. Seconds later, Seth and Kaitlyn are pulling BB away while Mike loosens his brother's grip.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Are you seriously that stupid? Do you just not give a shit that much about your life that you will just choke your own son in front of people? What has happened to you to turn you into such a heartless asshole?" Mike asks still holding onto his brother's wrist. The three teens keep looking back and forth from brother to brother and can see the fire in both their eyes.

"What gives you the right to ask questions like that, you pretentious prick? I guess some things DON'T change. You were judgmental then and you are even worse now, so why don't you just butt out!" Johnny yells yanking his wrist back and removing his brother's grip.

"I'm sorry for giving a damn about you; if you want to fuck up your life any more than you already have just go for it. If you do, do NOT be bringing your kid down with you." Mike replies screaming in his brother's face. Mike wasn't aware, but BB could see his father start clenching his fist. He wanted to say something, but he just had a horrible feeling he would just make things worse.

"You don't have a clue what you are saying. Never in my life have I EVER brought my sons down with me. Look at how they have turned out." Johnny explains. Mike rolls his eyes and scoffs.

"You are so full of shit. Look at how they've turned out thanks to you! One son was so mentally abused he went to college halfway across the country to get away from you and you physically abuse the other. If you think that constitutes you a reward, you must be smoking something because the only reward you deserve is a five year stay at the Iron Bar Hotel for your abusive attitude and your drug habit." Mike answers back which gets everybody looking at him with wide eyes.

"How DARE you make those accusations, you son-of-a-bitch. You know damn well Chance got a scholarship to that school and you also know damn well that I have been clean for eight years. I've cleaned up my act." Johnny replies getting closer and closer to punching Mike in the face with all the derogatory comments. To everybody's surprise, it wasn't Mike who spoke up this time.

"You're lying." BB quietly answers getting everybody to turn towards him. "If you've cleaned up your act eight years ago, then why did me and Chance find cocaine before mom died? If you've cleaned up your act, then why did I find you doing drugs with a skank off the street a couple of months ago? You've never quit all! You've only got better at hiding it…hiding everything. Maybe I should have done something a long time ago."

"Ohh. What should you have done?" Johnny asked condescendingly.

"I should have exposed you for what you really are. A lying, abusive, alcoholic, and drug addicted LIAR!" BB yells. BB tries to get back in his father's face, but was held back by Seth and Kaitlyn as Johnny laughs as he walks up to his son.

"It wouldn't have done any good because nobody would have believed you. You're just a kid. More specifically a spoiled little brat who never learned to stand on his own two feet. You know I'm right." Johnny yells as BB looks down at the floor. "What? Are you gonna cry? Crying isn't going to save you this time. It only worked on your mother. You're only crying because everything I'm saying is absolutely true. What's also true is that everything that has happened to you...you brought it on yourself."

At that moment, BB had enough and took a swing at his father with his good hand. BB didn't know what in world caused him to attempt a punch, but at that moment, BB was done hearing his father bully and belittle him. Sadly, the punch did no good as his father caught the punch with his left hand and counted with a slap with his right hand. His father's palm connecting full force with BB's temple. BB went down as Mike turned his brother back towards him.

"You hit the boy again, and that will be the last mistake you ever make in your life." Mike threatens.

"You can't protect him forever, Mikey, you know as well as I do that he is just a little bastard. A worthless little bastard. I used to make remarks that Chance was our surprise and Blaine was our little mistake. " Johnny replies. Moments later, there is a knock at the front door. Mike opens the door without taking his eyes off of his brother and two police officers enter.

"Johnathan Bonin. You're under arrest for drug possession and for felony assault. You have the right…." One of the cops said continuing to read Johnny his Miranda Rights as the other cop started putting handcuffs on him.

BB stayed down on his knees and continued looking at the floor. He wanted to look up and see the commotion, but he just couldn't bear to see his father reach rock bottom. BB hoped that everything would turn out good with him and his dad, but now was the final breaking point for him. His dad wasn't going to change and BB wasn't enough to help him.

BB stared at the floor when the cops entered. BB continued staring when his dad was being arrested. BB continued staring when his dad was continuously screaming that he was a no-good bastard, and when he and the cops finally left. BB thought he making great strides in boosting his confidence, but that was all wiped away with the sound of police sirens, handcuffs, and screaming. After hearing his dad say those things, BB spirit was crushed and all he wanted to do was crawl in a hole.

He honestly didn't ever register Mike picking him up and carrying him back to his room. He did hearing Mike talking to somebody, but he wasn't in the mood to fully comprehend what they are saying. The last thing he remembers was Mike wiping his hand across his face…for what reason he doesn't know.

* * *

"How's Blaine?" Cheryl asks Mike after he walks back into the kitchen and gets a slice of BB's birthday cake from the refrigerator.

"Right now? Not good at all. It's like he mentally shut down after the police showed up. When I set him on the bed, it looked like he was in a literal trance.

"I mean it is a lot for a teenager to take in. What exactly happened with everything in there?" Cheryl asks as Mike shook his head in disgust.

"Johnny immediately started in on everybody, especially Blaine. The one time he stood up for himself, his was simply slapped away. He then went on saying that usual bullshit we hear every time Johnny is brought up. Along the lines of 'I didn't ruin my kids' and 'I've gotten better and I've changed' among other lines of crap." Mike answered after taking a few bites of cake.

"I don't understand it. From what I could see, Blaine seemed to have an idea of how his father felt about him. Why is he taking it so hard now?" Cheryl asks genuinely confused.

"Because for the longest time, Blaine idolized that asshole no matter what he did. I think he still held out that sliver of hope that his father would get himself together and they could have a normal father-son relationship. After getting completely demolished by his father, I think Blaine fully realizes what his father thinks of him and it has destroyed him. He feels like that sliver of hope has snapped and he doesn't know what to do." Mike replies after finishing his cake and washing the plate.

"What do you think we should do?" Cheryl asks now feeling really concerned for her nephew.

"Right now I think we should just leave him alone and give him some time to process everything out. How long will it take?" Mike asks rhetorically sitting back down at the table resting his head in the palms of his hands.

* * *

Two days later, BB is still lying on the bed staring at the wall when Mike enters the room.

"Blaine? Come on, Blaine, get up." Mike says trying to get his nephew to get up and do SOMETHING. As he expected, BB didn't move or answer. "Blaine, it's been two days you need to get up and around." Once again no answer. Mike knew that BB was going to need time to process that night, but he was hoping that his nephew would have at least got out of bed within two days. Mike was going to give him space, but he believes that his nephew has reached a dangerous depression level. So Mike decided to give him the push he desperately needs.

"OK, Blaine. I'm tired of being nice. You need to get up. You are scaring everybody right now. Me and your aunt are worried about you. Kaitlyn cried herself to sleep last night because you haven't talked to anybody. I know you're hurting, but you are better than this." Mike exclaims hoping that this would get an answer…but it didn't. Mike didn't want to have to go to drastic measures, but he reached his breaking point.

"I know you're hurting, Blaine, but I do this because I care about you." Mike says walking to BB's dresser and pulling out clothes. "It's been two days and you haven't BUDGED from this bed. You honestly are starting to smell ripe. You need to take a shower then we need to talk." Mike yells to his nephew. One last time, BB doesn't make any motion of a response.

"THAT'S IT!" Mike yells as he picks up his nephew off the bed and carries him and his clothes to the bathroom. Mike sits BB in the tub fully clothed and turns the cold water on full blast. Mike knew the treatment was a little harsh, but this was his last resort before calling a therapist. After about ten seconds under the cold water, BB started screaming. Mike smirked as he turned off the water and pulled back the curtain to reveal his drenched nephew.

"Now that I have your attention. Blaine, you are going to take a shower and then you will meet me in my bedroom and we are going to talk. Do you understand me?" Mike asks. BB looked at him wide eyed and nodded. "I don't let Kaitlyn nod and I won't let you. Do you understand me?" Mike asks again.

"Yes sir." BB answers quietly and hoarse due to those being the first two words he has said in almost three days. Mike smiled at the answer.

"Good. Now don't keep me waiting." Mike said leaving the bathroom giving BB some privacy. BB gawked at the door for a moment before pulling the rubber band from his hair and getting ready to take a shower.

Twenty minutes later, BB slowly walks into his aunt and uncle's room combing the rats out of his hair as he catches his uncle reading a book waiting for BB to finish. He looks up to see his nephew waiting and he smiles.

"I'm glad to see you back amongst the living…and with a tolerable smell." Mike says with a small chuckle. BB lets a small smirk appear as Mike has BB sit next to him on the bed.

"I'm gonna skip the jokes and side talk and go straight to the main question. How are you feeling? Don't give me fine. Just give me the honest answer." Mike asks patting BB on the back. BB still has no motivation to talk, but he knew that if he didn't speak up now that it was going to get worse for him.

"I'm alive. Not much more than that, but I am alive. Alive and confused." BB answer the best he can.

"Are you confused about everything your dad said that night?" Mike asks as BB answers with a quiet 'yes, sir'. "Look, Blaine, I know it's easy for me to say, but you should not believe anything he said about you or your brother. He's in a dark place right now, and he doesn't mean a word."

"Thanks for trying to lie, but I know everything he said is mostly true. Drug addict or not." BB answers looking back down at floor, but Mike pulls his chin back up so they are looking face to face.

"What in the world makes you say that?" Mike asks BB.

"I knew for a long time that my mom's pregnancy with me was a mistake. Grandma told me about the complications she had that put me and her at risk. I als…." BB answered before being cut off.

"Do you also know that when your mother saw you for the first time that she knew that all the problems that you both went through was worth it? I know because she told me. Repeatedly. Blaine, you look almost exactly like your mother. She said you were going to grow up tough like your father. She always had that dream for you and Chance that you both would look like her and be tough like him." Mike replies smiling back at the memory.

"Tough? Me? Yeah right. You heard him, right? I'm anything but tough. I now remember the first time he laid a hand on me. He said 'I'm only doing this to teach you a lesson.' Apparently I was a slow learner because they happened over the course of five years. Chance was always the tough one. Not me. He was smart and got away as soon as possible." BB answered.

"Maybe my dad is right about me being a bastard." BB says as Mike glares at him. "Not in the way you think. I mean I truly don't know who my dad is anymore. The man I've seen the last few months is not my father. That man is…scary. The man who took mom, Chance, and me to the Grand Canyon was my father, and I believe he's gone." BB finishes as his eyes start to water.

First off, if you ever call yourself that again, you'll be grounded until I'm dead. Second, do you believe that bottling up all these emotions and holding everything back is being tough? Just because your dad told you that emotions were weakness. Sometimes it's better to show emotion because it shows you care." Mike explains. BB nods and grabs his uncle in a hug before letting the remainder of his bottled emotions go as he started silently crying. Mike held onto his nephew tight and calming him down. Mike knows that BB has had one or two breakdowns like this ever since coming to Houston, but Mike firmly believes that now BB can fully move on with his life.

Ten minutes later, BB finally calmed down and started to wipe his face as Mike brought him a box of Kleenex.

"Feeling better…at least for right now?" Mike asks as BB looks at him and nods. "I know there is still going to be some pain in the future, but we can worry about that another time. How about we go get some of that birthday cake that's left before Aunt Cheryl throws it out?" Mike asks as BB smiles and they start going downstairs. Halfway down the stairs, Kaitlyn meets up with the pair. Before Kaitlyn says anything, BB gives her a big hug and a kiss. Mike understands what is about to happen and quietly excuses himself.

"What was that for?" Kaitlyn asks smiling.

"That was for always looking out for me through everything. I'm sorry for the way I was acting the last couple of days." BB said looking ashamed.

"You scared everybody, Blaine. Mom and dad have been restless and couldn't sleep. Seth was asking about you. And I…." Kaitlyn starts to say before being cut off by BB.

"…have been crying yourself to sleep because of me. Katie, I never meant to scare everyone the way I did. I am so sorry." BB replied.

"What caused you to completely lose it? I mean I thought you were doing better?" Kaitlyn asks.

"I was, but then seeing my dad and hearing those things come out of his mouth…it just destroyed me. For some reason, I completely idolized my dad. When those things were happening I thought if I would change then he would change. I held onto that hope for as long as I could, but that hope was crushed. I mean I always had this feeling that he truly didn't like me, but I never thought I would see the day that he would actually say it. It made me feel like a loser because I was holding onto a faith that was never going to happen and I wasted all that time hoping for nothing. He hated me and I couldn't change that fact. I guess it took longer than it should have to come to terms with something I always had a suspicion about." BB answered then taking a deep breath afterward.

"You aren't a loser. There's nothing wrong with holding onto that chance that something will change. Better late than never, right?" Kaitlyn asks BB as he nods before she continued. "What exactly caused you to snap out of the depression?"

"It was Uncle Mike. He used force, but it was a different force. Not one of anger, but one to show he is willing to do whatever he could to make sure I was safe. It sounds stupid, but it's the best way to describe it. We talked for a while and after a bit I started feeling much better. I'm still having doubts and thoughts like that; things are starting to look up…permanently this time." BB says with a smile before hugging Kaitlyn again—who was trying miserably to hide herself wiping tears away.

"Next time if you are feeling like that, talk to somebody. Don't bottle your sadness and anger up to a point where you stare at a wall for two days." Kaitlyn replies resting her head on his shoulder.

"Alright. I promise I will get better at that." BB answers as the teens hear noises in the kitchen. "Come on, Katie, let's get a slice of cake before Uncle Mike eats it all." Kaitlyn smiles as they both start heading downstairs.

At that moment, BB finally felt like he could truly move on with his life without having to worry about the doubt or fear of his father haunting him. For now, that chapter of his life is closed.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading. Hopefully you enjoyed the chapter. If the ending seemed rushed, I'm sorry about. I hit a point of writer's block and i tried the best I could to finish it.**


	9. Last Hoorah of the Summer

**Alright! I am back with another installment of It's For the Best. With it now being summer, I can HOPEFULLY get more time to write so I don't have to make you wait longer than necessary. For everybody who is still reading the story, thank you very much for your patience and your dedication! I am extremely grateful for that. Anyways back to the story.**

* * *

Chapter 9

"Alright, Blaine. Everything looks good and fully healed. Are you ready to remove the cast?" The doctor asks after reviewing the x-rays and results of BB's tests. BB let out a sigh of relief after hearing that question. The cast has been a pain in BB's butt ever since he got it. Mike—who had been silently sitting in the exam room with BB—quietly chuckled after seeing his nephew's reaction.

"You don't know how ready I am to get rid of this thing." BB replied as the doctor smiled and grabbed some tools to remove the cast. As the doctor started cutting away at the cast, BB intensely stared at his arm. BB was glad to finally remove the last piece of what has been the worst months of his life so he can finally start fresh and not have to think about the past. Seconds later, the doctor finished cutting through the cast and carefully removed it from BB's arm. BB continued to stare at his arm and move his fingers for a moment to try to regain some regularity back in his hands and arm after six weeks in a pain in the ass cast. BB snapped out of his little world when the doctor started talking to him.

"Huh…I'm sorry what did you say?" BB asked as Mike and the doctor started chuckling.

"It's alright, my boy. A lot of people get the same look whenever something like this happens. I asked you if you wanted to keep the cast as a souvenir." The doctor explains. BB thought about it for a moment before answering the doctor.

"Sure…why not." BB answered.

* * *

During the drive home after Mike and BB left the doctor, all BB did was stare at the pale skin on his arm and hand while holding the cast in his lap.

"Your skin won't stay that white for that long as much as you go outside." Mike said with a chuckle as BB rolled his eyes.

"I know that. It's just very…weird. I know the cast was only temporary, but after a while I just got used to wearing it. Even though it was a big pain in my butt." BB replied trying to find the right words to describe what he was feeling.

"Good point, I'm actually surprised you wanted to keep the cast considering how you got it. If you got it from wrestling or from a dirt bike wreck, yeah I can see that. But you…didn't." Mike said trying to carefully choose his words.

"Right. When we first walked into the doctor's office, I had in my mind that I was not going to keep that cast no matter what. After thinking about it, I changed my mind and decided to keep it. It is a good reminder about what happened in the past and what I'm heading towards in the future. It also represents me breaking away from my pain." BB answered with a smirk on his face. After hearing that, Mike couldn't help but smile as he patted his nephew's leg. Seconds later, Mike gets an idea.

"You know what? How about we stop at this pizza place for lunch before we head home?" Mike asks as BB nods his head and they go on their way.

"The Pizza-Cade? I'm surprised this place is still open! You know how long it's been since any of us have been here?" BB asks as him and Mike get seated at a table.

"Since you and Kaitlyn were about seven…or was it ten or eleven I can't remember. I do remember that whenever you came down to visit with your mom that we would eat pizza then you would follow me and Kaitlyn would follow your mom around the arcade." Mike replied as they looked at the menus.

"Yeah. I was always excited when we got to come here because I loved watching you play skee-ball or that muscleman game where you hit the podium with that hammer to make the bell at the top ding. Especially skee-ball because you had a technique down where you would be able to hit the high scoring corners seven out of eight shots."

"Do you remember why I never hit it all eight times?"

"…Now I remember! So, they wouldn't think you were cheating or something?"

"Exactly! I'm shocked you still remember that!"

"Do you remember that one time where you won this giant stuffed animal for a contest here and you ask if you could get three small ones instead?"

"Yep. I did it so you, Chance, and Kaitlyn wouldn't fight over who got to take it home." Mike said smiling when times were much simpler. When BB's mother was still alive and his younger brother wasn't such an asshole.

"I still have that tiger to this day. Come on, the pizza's here. Let's eat! The sooner we finish, the sooner we can hit the arcade." BB says as the waitress puts the pizza on the table. After finishing their pizza, BB and Mike are walking around the arcade to see what game to play first.

"Do you want to try your luck at skee-ball?" Mike asks BB who immediately shakes his head no.

"Believe me. I would rather watch you play. It's much more fun seeing the master in action." BB replies bowing to Mike who slaps him on the shoulder.

"Alright, smart ass. Let's see if the master still has it." Mike says walking over to the skee-ball machine. The balls slide down the chute and Mike gets ready to throw his first one. After making the necessary adjustments, Mike lets the first ball go…and it ends up in one of the low scoring sections. BB couldn't help but laugh a little.

"Umm…Master? I think you might have lost your touch after ten years." BB remarks. Just as soon as the words leave his mouth, Mike's next shot makes it exactly into the high scoring section in the top left corner. Soon after, Mike's remaining six shots go in the exact same spot, leaving BB dumbfounded.

"You were saying?" Mike asked shooting a smirk over to his nephew, who bows that he is unworthy.

"Oh, forgive me, Great Supreme Overlord of Skee-Ball. I am young and do not know what I am speaking about." BB replies and Mike laughs and grabs the tickets from the game before pulling BB over to the game.

"Come on, Blaine. I'm going to teach you the tricks of my skill." Mike says putting tokens into the machine and the balls slide down the chute.

"No thank you. You don't have to do that. I will never be as good as you." BB says trying to back away, but Mike is not having any of it.

"That's why you are learning now. Someone has got to be the heir to my Skee-ball throne whenever I retire from active competition."

"Ohh…alright. I guess it wouldn't hurt to learn the tricks from the master himself." BB said as Mike started showing him how to hold the ball and when exactly to release it. After a few tries—and eight dollars of tokens—BB finally started to get the hang of it. By that time, they had spent enough time playing around and decided it was time to leave.

"I think you really started getting the hang of my tricks, and you did even better when you were able to keep the ball in the lanes of the game." Mike says laughing as he drives down the street.

"That wasn't my fault! I'm still trying to get the range of motion back in my arm!" BB replies turning his head to look out the window so Mike doesn't see him blushing.

"Blaine, you are right handed. You broke your left arm."

"Alright, I surrender. The first time was an epic fail. The second time I was really trying to hit him with the ball."

"BLAINE!"

"He deserved it! The guy was being mouthy and making fun of you. Calling you an old man."

"Being called an old man isn't a reason to catch the guy in the balls on your backswing."

"Then he made the remark of you being a pedophile and getting cheap thrills showing little boys how to play arcade games. That was when I hit him in the nuts." BB admitted with a rare confident smile on his face. Mike looked over at BB and all he wanted to do was hug the boy for his form of defending his honor.

"That still doesn't excuse hitting a guy below the belt…but I'm proud of you." Mike relents not being able to keep smile off his face.

* * *

About an hour later, Mike and BB make it back home where Kaitlyn and Seth are sitting on the couch as Seth was showing Kaitlyn how to play a video game. They hear the door close and turn around to see BB and Mike made it home.

"Hey! How was the doctor?" Kaitlyn asked putting the controller on the coffee table and walking over to the guys.

"It was alright. Blaine got his cast off and we got to spend time together today, so it was a pretty good day." Mike said walking upstairs leaving BB, Kaitlyn, and Seth to themselves.

"So what exactly did you guys do today? Let me guess…you went to the monster truck show!" Kaitlyn asked laughing.

"Actually, no, smartass. Me and Uncle Mike actually went to the Pizza-Cade off the highway. Remember that place, Katie?" BB asked with a huge smirk on his face as Kaitlyn's eyes grew wide.

"You mean that pizza place we used to go to when were little?" Kaitlyn asked as BB nodded. "Ugh. That place was fun! You suck, Blaine!"

"Sorry, Katie. Maybe Uncle Mike can take us both up there someday and I can kick your butt at Skee-ball." BB remarked. Kaitlyn rolled her eyes before her mouth falls open.

"He showed you, didn't he?" Kaitlyn yells. BB shrugs at his cousin, playing oblivious to the fact he knows exactly what she was talking about.

"Showed me what?"

"Don't play dumb! He showed you his tricks didn't he?"

"No he didn't!"

"You lie! He did too! You hate normally hate skee-ball. That would be the only reason you would want to play against me! I begged him for years to show me his skills, but you get shown right off the bat…you're an asshole!" Kaitlyn pouts. BB goes to give her a hug, but he gets tricked into a headlock by Kaitlyn. Seconds later, Kaitlyn is giving him a noogie as Seth smirks in amusement.

"The way you guys act…are you sure that you two aren't actually twins separated at birth?" Seth asks as Kaitlyn lets BB out of the headlock.

"Yes." BB and Kaitlyn said at the same time before glaring at each other, which got Seth to start laughing.

"Yeah…sure." Seth replied catching his breath. "Anyways. Are we still on for tonight?" Seth asks Kaitlyn.

"Yep. It starts about six. So we can leave here about five thirty. I'll see you later." Kaitlyn replies kissing Seth as he walks out the door.

"Where are you guys going, tonight? Another concert or something? BB asks laughing and going to sit on the couch. Kaitlyn slaps him on the shoulder and sits next to him.

"Nope. Besides it's not just us going. There's a group of us going. Me, Seth, Becky, Evan…and you and the rest of our friends." Kaitlyn says as BB looks at her weirdly.

"Wait! Where exactly are we going?" BB asks a little anxiously. Kaitlyn rolls her eyes and pats him on the back.

"It's nothing terrible. We all get together for an end of summer party before we start school. This one will be huge because we will all be seniors!" Kaitlyn exclaims excitedly.

"If this is such a huge deal, why are you waiting until six to start the party?" BB asks.

"Becky had to be somewhere until 5:30. I just can't remember what exactly it was. She told me a couple days ago." Kaitlyn replies thinking about the reason just as Cheryl comes into the living room.

"There you are, Blaine. I've been needing to tell you that the school principal called to let us know that you need to be at the High School at 4:00 today for new student orientation." Cheryl says as BB groans.

"That's it! Becky has to go to the orientation, too. At least you two won't be alone and go through the torture together." Kaitlyn says smiling. BB groans again and rolls his eyes.

"Thanks a lot, Katie!" BB moaned as he picked up the controller and attempted to play the game that Seth and Kaitlyn left paused earlier.

* * *

Two hours later, BB was walking up to the high school after being dropped off by Kaitlyn. BB really didn't want to go to this orientation. One because he didn't know anybody at the school yet. Two because he really didn't want to think about school right now after how his "summer vacation" went. Kaitlyn—being the loving and caring cousin that she was—gave him some positive reinforcement to calm his nerves. It actually came out more along the lines of "You will be fine! Now get the hell out of the car before I throw you out the window. We've been sitting here for ten minutes."

" _What do I have to lose?"_ BB thought taking a deep breath before opening the doors to the high school. About ten feet after walking into the building there was a sign with a big arrow telling all new student to head to the auditorium. The problem was that there was only that one sign giving directions. Three wrong turns later, BB found the auditorium just before the principal began talking to all the students. Lucky for BB, he could find Becky right before the lights went off in the seating area of the auditorium. Becky caught a quick glimpse of BB before it went completely dark.

"Nice to see ya, Thing 2. Katie said you were going to be here. Where have you been?" Becky whispers.

"Getting lost. Only one sign giving directions to this place. In trying to find the auditorium, I found the band room, the wood shop, and the gym." BB replies to which both teens start snickering. Everyone was quieted shortly after by the big muscular old guy who walked to the podium with some awkward swagger that BB couldn't describe other than somebody gave him an atomic wedgie.

"Quiet down! Allow me to introduce myself. My name in Vincent Kennedy McMahon and I will be your principal for the upcoming school year. This year, we have decided to have all new and transferring students attend a quick orientation about the school and our policies. I personally like to call it my 'Developmental Program Seminar.' Right now, my secretary, Miss Keibler, is passing out information folders for everyone. Don't lose these. They will be your guide to all the info about the school." Mr. McMahon said as a tall blonde woman was handing out folders to each row and telling the people on the end to pass them down. After she walked past BB's row, he saw that her skirt was long enough to cover all the necessities, but short enough that every guy in attendance was staring at her long legs.

" _Secretary? Yeah, I bet! I wonder how she got her job anyway. If Chance was here, we would have to have his smile surgically removed. He was always a sucker for leggy ladies."_ BB thought with a smirk creeping across his face.

"As you can see, every folder has a pen included to take notes throughout the next hour. So, no talking and take quick notes because we have a lot to cover in the hour and a half we have. Please save all questions until the very end. Everyone flip to the first page…." Mr. McMahon said as started to explain the school policies.

"Is this torture over yet?" Becky asks shooting a quick glance to BB as they both took down a quick note.

"I was getting ready to ask you the same thing." BB replied circling something in the packet. "This is cruel and unusual punishment."

"I know right. It's like punishing the new kids before we even start." Becky said rolling her eyes.

"I can't believe we are just getting started. This is going to be a long day." BB remarked as they continued to take notes.

* * *

About an hour later, BB and Becky are trying their hardest not to fall asleep during Mr. McMahon's orientation as he was finishing up.

"Now remember, all the offenses listed on page sixteen are punishable by a minimum of two weeks' suspension up to the maximum of expulsion. If expelled, you will not be allowed to attend any school events including sporting festivities, prom, and possibly graduation. All the faculty want you to be the face of this high school. Do NOT be the Achilles' heel and weaken our school." Mr. McMahon said trying to intimidate everybody. It must have worked because BB saw a few of the students around him gulp and look at him with fear in their eyes. BB had to try really hard not to start laughing.

" _Scare tactics. Wouldn't be the first time I had to experience that in my life."_ BB thought as Mr. McMahon continued talking.

"I believe this takes care of all the information in the packet. As for your class schedules, you will be able to pick them up on Monday before school begins. I highly recommend that you arrive earlier than usual the first couple of days so you all can find your way around the school and find the location of all your classes. Do the feeling out process the first week and the rest of your semester and school year will be a breeze. I leave you with that. Goodbye and see you bright and early Monday." Mr. McMahon dismissing the students. After fighting through the crowd to get out of the auditorium, Becky and BB manage to meet up outside near the office.

"That's two hours that I will never get back." BB said shaking his head.

"You know why they did this orientation, right?" Becky asked as BB shook his head no. "Usually they pull all the new students out of their first class on the first day and have all of us meet in an empty classroom for this orientation. According to the guy sitting next to me, this is the largest amount of new and transfer students that this school has ever had—meaning that they would have been giving the same speech all day long. To make things easier for them, they decided to shove all of us in the auditorium the week before school starts and bore the crap out of us. Fun right?"

"Oh yeah. Let me tell you. Fun was the first word that comes to mind. At least it will be in a few hours because apparently, there is the big get together with a whole group of us." BB replies as Becky squeals with excitement while jumping up and down.

"YES! Katie talked to me about it and I thought it was the most awesome thing EVER! It's the first year I get to experience this…and you too! Don't tell me you aren't going?" Becky asks at about a hundred miles an hour before slowly dropping back into normal speed. BB smiled before starting to laugh.

"After the way you described it, how could I miss it? That and the fact that if I don't go, Katie will make my life a living hell." BB replied before getting an idea. "Hey, how did you get down here?"

"Me mum dropped me off, but she texted me during the thing and said she couldn't make it down here." Becky replied.

"Perfect." BB said which got him a weird look from Becky. "I mean that you can just ride with me. Kaitlyn and Seth are on their way right now. We can just head over to Evan's place together." BB suggested which gets Becky excited all over again and grabbing BB in a tight hug.

"Laddy, I love the way you think. I know what we can call ourselves. The Four Musketeers. No WAIT! Even better idea…we can call ourselves the Four Horsepeople!" Becky replied completely excited.

"The Four Horse…people?" BB questioned confusingly.

"Yeah! We can't be the Four Horsemen or Horsewomen because we have two boys and two girls." Becky replied happily.

"It's cool, but I really don't think it will catch on. Good try, though." BB said as he pats Becky's shoulder.

"So I'm guessing you vote 'nay'. Get it? Because we were talking about horses and they 'nay'. I'm brilliant." Becky says as cracks up laughing at her pun. BB smiles and rolls his eyes as he sees Seth's car pulling towards the high school.

"Come on, Becky, let's go." BB said ushering her to Seth's car. The two younger teens get into the back seat and buckle up before they head to Evan's house.

"So, how was it?" Kaitlyn asks looking back at the two younger teens as Seth starts driving to Evan's. BB and Becky roll their eyes at the thought of remembering the waste of time that was an orientation.

"Overall, the whole orientation was a waste of time." BB said as Becky nodded in agreement.

"Yeah. The principal was an overbearing weirdo." Becky added.

"And his 'secretary' was a floozy." BB replied emphasizing how much he believes Miss Keibler was not hired for her office skills.

"Well…she has a lot more class than the last secretary he hired. Her nickname was Sunny Days. Rumor spread around the high was that she was fired freshman year for attempting to have 'relations' with the Vice Principal's son in the janitor's closet." Seth added to the conversation as BB and Becky gave Seth a look of disgust. "The good thing is that was untrue, but she was fired for having relations."

"With who?" BB and Becky ask at the same time.

"The Vice Principal…and the head janitor…and two science teachers. Yeah…there were lots of calls and controversy freshman year to say the least." Kaitlyn replied changing the radio station.

* * *

Ten minutes later, the four teens make it to Evan's house. Becky and Kaitlyn went ahead into the house as BB and Seth unloaded the trunk of the car. Seth closed the trunk as both guys carried a cooler into the house.

"How many drinks did you need to bring? I didn't know the end of summer made everyone want to drink so heavily." BB asked as Seth starts laughing.

"You've never been to one of these. There are usually quite a few people that show up to these parties, so these two coolers might not even be enough. Before you ask, no! There is nothing alcoholic in either of the coolers. Evan's parents are here supervising and Kaitlyn said that she would beat the shit out of me if I was to even consider drinking and driving." Seth replied as they walked into the house. The two teens maneuver their way into the kitchen and place the coolers down as they are met by Evan.

"About time you guys got here. I'm glad you decided to come along, BB." Evan said catching BB in a bro-hug, which BB awkwardly reciprocated.

"I wasn't gonna be able to miss this, especially with Katie holding me against my will." BB replied laughing.

"The sooner you learn not to fight me, the easier life will be for you." Kaitlyn remarks as she enters the kitchen with AJ.

"Believe me. I've learned that the hard way." Seth remarks walking over and wrapping his arm around Kaitlyn.

"Happy wife, happy life." Dolph said walking up from the basement which got everybody laughing.

"Don't you know it?" Seth replied as he and Kaitlyn kissed. Becky and BB look at each other and roll their eyes as Evan walks back over to BB.

"You are gonna be in for a long and fun night, BB." Evan says slapping BB on the shoulder and startling BB. "You've never been to one of these, so let me explain the five main rules of the party. Be respectful to all party-goers, don't destroy the property, no fights, no drugs and alcohol, and the most important rule—no sleeping!"

"What do you plan on doing all night?" BB asks.

"What we NOT plan on doing all night? Come on, BB! That basement is pretty much teenage hangout central. There is a mini home theater down there. Video and board games out the wazoo! Pool table, dart board, air hockey. Damn, if you fall asleep with all that shit down there, you don't know how to have a good time."

"Believe us, Blaine, you won't even have a chance to get tired. I will certainly make sure of it. Besides, we can sleep all day tomorrow. Tonight is about celebrating before our senior year of high school and hanging out with the most awesome people on the planet." Kaitlyn says as everybody yells and cheers. Seconds later, Seth's phone goes off. He immediately knows who it is by the ringtone and runs to the door.

"Dean, Roman, and Punk are here with the food." Seth says opening the door with Dolph following behind.

"How much food did those lads get if it takes five people to help?" Becky asks.

"When I talked to Punk about twenty minutes ago, Dean and Roman have already hit two pizza places and they were going to meet Punk at Cabana's Taco Shop while Punk was driving to the sandwich shop downtown after stopping at the grocery store to get some fruits and vegetables because we don't want anybody to have a heart attack tonight." AJ replied.

"With that many places, how many people are going to be here?" BB asks as he watches Dean and Roman carry three pizzas each while the rest of the food train followed.

"Well…there's Katie and Seth, you and Becky, Punk and AJ, Dean and Roman, Dolph, and Dean's girlfriend Renee. So at least ten." Evan answered counting the people on his fingers.

"At LEAST ten?" Becky and BB exclaimed.

"Sometimes a few more people show up to make things interesting. I didn't tell very many people this time around. Since this is the first time you two have been to one of our parties, we didn't want to overwhelm you guys." Evan said wrapping his arms around BB and Becky. At that moment, Seth and Dolph come back upstairs.

"Stop goofing around, Evan. We need some help hooking up the PS4 down there!" Dolph yells jokingly as Evan follows them back downstairs as everybody else follows. Becky and BB look at each other before laughing.

"It looks like it might be a long night. Are you ready, Becks?" BB asks.

"Laddy, I was BORN ready. We're gonna rule the night with straight FIYAHH!" Becky yells jogging down the stairs. BB chuckles at Becky's enthusiasm as he follows her.

* * *

Hours later, BB and Becky are playing cards as they were both eliminated early in Evan's video game tournament. Even though BB likes to play video games as much as the next teenager, he will admit that first-person shooting games are NOT exactly his forte.

"How exactly did we end up playing cards in the main room while everybody else is watching the end of the video game tournament?" Becky asks shuffling the cards getting ready to deal a hand.

"Well…we were knocked out in the second round. I still think it's hilarious how you beat Dean and I beat Punk in the first round." BB says laughing as Becky laughs along while she deals the cards.

"It's not like they were too embarrassed about the two babies of the group knocking them out. They were probably happy to spend more time next to their girlfriends anyway." Becky says as she flips over a nine as BB looks at his cards.

"Very true. It was pretty fun while it lasted. We got destroyed by Seth and Evan in the next round, so here we are!" BB replies smiling as he studies his hand. "Hit me!"

"Are you sure you wanna hit? You have sixteen showing?" Becky asks as things are getting interesting in a round of blackjack.

"I'm completely sure, Becky. I want another card." BB replies as Becky deals another card. She flips the card and it reveals to be the four of clubs. Becky looks on at BB with amazement. Becky flips over her cards and eventually goes over twenty-one and busts. BB smiles and cheers at his success.

"That was seven hands in a row! Damn, BB." Becky says shaking her head as she continues to look at the results of the hand.

"How the hell did you do that?" Becky asks as BB continues to cheer. "Are you cheating?"

"Of course not! I would never cheat. I just…." BB tried to explain before being cut off by Kaitlyn who was walking out of the home theater area, the tournament just finished.

"You just have known how to count cards since you were thirteen. You know Las Vegas LOVES people like you in their casinos…they don't have to pay you and they get to throw you out." Kaitlyn remarks laughing as they make faces at each other.

"It isn't illegal. It's just…not appreciated in some circles." BB replied proud of himself.

"Call it what you want." Kaitlyn replies rolling her eyes.

"I feel the love. Who ended up winning the tournament?" BB asks as Kaitlyn points at her best friend.

"AJ…again. Third party in a row. I wish I could play video games like her. She wiped the floor with Roman in the finals. You guys should have been there." Kaitlyn says smirking as she watches Punk kiss his victorious girlfriend. "What time is it anyway?"

BB pulls out his phone to look at the time. "It's almost three in the morning. Why?" BB asked trying his best to hold in a yawn.

"Because we finish off the night with a movie. We plan it that way because as the movie goes along, everyone starts to fall sleep. That's why we have all the fun and games at the very beginning. Just so you know that you don't want to be the first person to fall asleep."

"What'll happen if we do pass out first?" Becky asks as Evan walks up to the group.

"Nothing cruel, I can promise you that. I will tell you that at the last party like this, Dean fell asleep first he ended up with his pants stuck to the ceiling—you can thank Kaitlyn and AJ for that one—and plastic wrapped to a pool table. That was probably one of the worst we've done because Dean is usually the one who leads the pranking. He was a good sport about it, though." Evan replies laughing at the memory. "Now come on! Seth and Roman are almost finished getting everything set back up so we can start watching the movie.

"What movie are we watching anyway?" Becky asks to which BB shrugs.

"That Guardians of the Galaxy movie. Everybody has been wanting to see it since we missed it in the theaters. You guys will enjoy it, especially Blaine." Kaitlyn says walking into the home theater as BB and Becky followed behind. Kaitlyn has already claimed a place on Evan's giant couch next to Seth. BB and Becky claimed the far-right side of the couch, and they each got a pillow and a blanket thrown at them by Evan as soon as they sat down.

"I told you that my parents are always prepared for get-togethers like these. Anyways, enjoy the movie and don't fall asleep first!" Evan replied as he turned off the lights and started the movie.

BB really did want to see this movie, but after twenty minutes of the movie, he could feel the exhaustion just flow through him. The last thing he wanted to do was to fall asleep first. BB looked around at everybody else on the couch and he figured that everybody else was feeling just as tired as he was. He then turned to Becky—who was starting to fall asleep. BB poked Becky to get her attention.

"Remember…don't fall asleep. Let's try to keep each other awake until someone else falls asleep first." BB whispered while yawning. Becky nodded in agreement as they continued watching the movie.

The plan was working pretty well through the first half of the movie as a poke here and there kept them awake pretty well. It was during the last thirty minutes of the movie when BB felt a strong punch to his arm. He was about to start yelling when Becky put her hand over his mouth.

"You were starting to snore. Not that it would have mattered. Look over there." Becky said pointing to the middle of the couch. BB looked over and saw that Kaitlyn and Seth were both out like lights. BB was trying his hardest not to bust out laughing.

"Looks like we survived." BB replied as he and Becky high-fived. "What do you think we should do to them?"

"I'm not sure. We don't want them waking up while we prank them. How are we gonna do that?" Becky replied.

"It won't be hard at all. Katie is such a heavy sleeper. We could drag her to the backyard and she still wouldn't wake up…wait! I have a great idea! What do you think about this?" BB asks as he whispers his plan to Becky. Her eyes go wide and she gets a devilish grin on her face.

"That's hilarious, but where in the world are we going to find stuff to accomplish that feat, lady?" Becky asks. BB smiles and points to the cabinet by the door.

"I saw some stuff we can use in there. Now come on, we have got to work fast before everybody wakes up." BB says as he and Becky tiptoe to the cabinet and work on their prank.

* * *

Hours later, everybody was comfortably sleeping until they were woken up by struggling and yelling.

"What the HELL!" Kaitlyn yells as everyone stirs and looks at her. BB turns to his cousin and tries to stifle his laughter seeing Kaitlyn and Seth struggle with the handcuffs that BB and Kaitlyn were able to slip on the couple.

"What's the problem?" BB asks yawning as Kaitlyn throws her arm in the air—and bringing Seth's along with it.

"Nice prank, Blaine. Joke is over. Remove the handcuffs." Kaitlyn says with a little aggravation in her voice.

"Come on, Katie! What makes you think that I would do that to you?" BB asks as innocent as possible with Kaitlyn glaring at him.

"Don't play dumb. Just admit that this "prank" was yours and we can go on with our lives."

"Ok. I'll take the handcuff off. It was worth a shot to at least try." BB said grabbing the keys off the coffee table and unlocking the couple from the handcuffs.

"Thanks. Now I don't know about any of you, but I'm ready for some breakfast. I'll be right back." Kaitlyn says as she walks to the bathroom and Seth follows to grab his gym bag. The other teens look over at BB and Becky.

"How long do you think it will take before they notice?" Evan asks holding his laughter.

"Before they realize that the handcuffs were a decoy? How long do you think, lady?" Becky asks BB.

"Let me see. In about three….two…one…." BB counts off before hearing the screams coming from the bathroom.

"BECKY! BLAINE!" Seth and Kaitlyn scream from the bathroom which leads to everybody else busting up laughing. Seth and Kaitlyn come running out with two different emotions on their face. Seth with a look of amusement and Kaitlyn with look of murder.

"What did we do?" Becky and BB ask at the same time.

"Jigglypuff, Blaine? Really? Out of all things you could prank me with, you decide to paint my face like a damn Pokémon? Jigglypuff no less." Kaitlyn asks annoyed. Even though his cousin is a little mad at him, he can't keep a straight face.

"Gotta catch 'em all, Katie-puff." BB replies before him and Becky start busting up laughing. Kaitlyn rolls her eyes as Seth wraps her up in a hug—even though his face is painted like a Pikachu.

"Come on, Katie. It isn't that bad. Those two could have done a LOT worse to you." Seth says calming Kaitlyn down a bit. She looks down and pouts for a second before smirking and returns the hug.

"You're right, but why do you get to be Pikachu? I thought I was the one with the electrifying personality." Kaitlyn asks as Seth chuckles.

"You are, but you also look very cute when you get huffy." Seth answers as Kaitlyn slaps him. "…and you have a pretty mean slap attack."

"Alright. Alright. Now that we've witnessed the prank for the party, let's cleaned up and get breakfast. I don't know about you, but I am STARVING." Evan says as everybody starts grabbing their stuff and heading upstairs to clean up and change. As BB walks starts walking upstairs, Evan grabs his arm to get his attention.

"So did you enjoy yourself, Blaine?" Evan asks.

"Actually, yes I did. I honestly had a blast. Thanks for letting me join in with your group's little tradition." BB answered. He didn't have to think that hard about it. He really had fun even after he felt out of place for a while, but Dolph, Roman, and everybody else made him feel like he had been part of the group ever since the beginning. It was amazing feeling that he never really felt before.

"Wait a second, BB! You said something wrong. This is not MY group. This is OUR group. I didn't invite you just because your Kaitlyn's cousin from out of town. It's because we're friends now and I knew we were probably going to be best friends ever since we talked for an hour and a half at the comic book shop. Do you wanna know how I know that? Because me and you are exactly alike. Right now you feel awkward, out of place, and a little lost because you moved far away from what you are so used to. Right?" Evan asks as BB nods the affirmative.

"Well, six years ago, me and my parents moved from St. Louis down to Houston because of an amazing job opportunity for my mom. Even in middle school, I felt weird because I had to make all new friends in an all new place. Far be it for me to give advice, but I just want to let you know that someone else has also been through this." Evan said patting BB on the shoulder.

"Thanks, Evan. I really appreciate it." BB replied with a smile as they both continued upstairs to get ready for the day.

" _You know…I feel a little bit more at ease thanks to Evan. Maybe I'll be able to make it through all this and put the past behind me."_ BB thought a little overwhelmed, but extremely grateful for the fact that he was able to find a good friend in Evan and that he was quickly accepted by their group—who BB considered to be probably very popular in school—even though he was called a geek in school more than once.

As BB and Evan made it back upstairs, everybody else was collaborating on where they should go. BB just stood back and smiled as everybody else argued.

" _Note to self…thank Kaitlyn for making me come to this…ANOTHER day."_

* * *

 ** _Here is Chapter 9! Hopefully you guys enjoyed the Chapter. If you also read "Learning the Ropes" I should have it updated as well this week. Stay tuned!  
_**


	10. Senior Year Awaits!

**Who is ready for another great chapter of It's For the Best. Without further ado...here we go!**

* * *

Monday morning, BB was woken by his alarm clock. He groaned before turning over and looking at what time it was on the clock: 6:45 am. He groaned again and decided that he wanted another ten minutes of sleep. Ten minutes later, the alarm rang again; BB decides to hit the snooze button again. BB did not get a chance to hit the snooze button the third time because as soon as the alarm went off, the covers were torn away from BB, leaving him lying in his tank top and shorts.

"Katie! What the hell?! What if I was sleeping in my underwear or nothing at all?" BB asked shocked while Kaitlyn rolled her eyes at her cousin being dramatic.

"I know you better than you do some days. You are too much a prude to sleep naked, so I have absolutely nothing to worry about! Come on, Blaine, get your ass up! You don't wanna be late for your first day!" Kaitlyn said trying to shake BB awake.

"Ugh…come on, Katie! Can't I have a few more minutes? School doesn't start until like what 8:30?" BB asks while putting the pillow over his head—which was quickly snatched by Kaitlyn.

"Try 8:15, Blaine. Nobody really wants to get up, but think about it. We are SENIORS! This is our last year of high school and we get to spend it TOGETHER!" Kaitlyn shrieked while shaking the bed. BB shook his head and decided to get out of bed—as much as he really didn't want to.

"Alright. You win, Katie. I'm up." BB remarked stretching.

"About damn time, lazy! Now hurry up and get ready because Seth will be here in like thirty-five minutes." Kaitlyn said as BB gave her a look of disbelief.

"What! Why?" BB asks with a small whine in his voice.

"He wanted to pick me up for the first day, and he kindly offered to take you as well since we ARE going to the same place. NO MORE STALLING! Get ready, Blaine!" Kaitlyn says running back to her room so she can finish getting ready. BB rolls his eyes and grabs some clothes so he can change after a shower.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Kaitlyn is running back to BB's room to bring him some breakfast and to see if he's ready for school.

"Hey! Are you ready for…What the hell are you wearing?" Kaitlyn asks as BB turns around while drying off and brushing his hair.

"What? What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" BB asks wondering what was wrong with wearing gym shorts, a shirt, and flip flops to school.

"Blaine, you are aware that we are going to school and NOT the beach right?"

"Like, for sure, dude! What's wrong with wearing far out clothes like these?" BB asks in his best surfer impression. Kaitlyn smirks before walking over to her cousin.

"Come on, Blaine! You have to dress like you care a little bit."

"But I don't really care. It's just school." BB replies scoffing.

"Coming from the Straight-A nerd? I'm shocked!" Kaitlyn says feigning surprise. "But seriously, I'm just wanting to look out for you because I don't want anybody to pick on you because they think you are geeky or something."

BB knows that Kaitlyn was trying to be helpful and look out for him. BB thought that maybe he should take more pride in his appearance and try to make a good first impression at this new school. He knows that if they relentlessly torture him, it will eventually trickle down to her.

"I get what you mean and I appreciate that you are looking out for me. So give me a few minutes and I'll change really quickly." BB said kissing Kaitlyn on the cheek as she left the room. BB smiled as he closed the door and changed his clothes. Five minutes later, Kaitlyn is knocking on the door, hoping her cousin is ready to go.

"Blaine! Hurry your ass up. Seth will be here any second. Get a move on!" Kaitlyn yells before bashing the door open. Luckily for Kaitlyn, BB was dressed and almost ready to go. When Kaitlyn came in, BB was smoothing his hair back and tying it into a ponytail. Kaitlyn took a quick look at her cousin to see if she approved of the new outfit. This time BB was wearing blue jeans with a sleeveless green flannel shirt over a green tank top, but he was still wearing flip flops.

"This is much better than the first one. Now hurry up and grab your stuff. Seth just texted and he's waiting in the driveway." Kaitlyn said the two teens jogged downstairs to meet Seth before they are stopped by Cheryl.

"Aww…look at my two seniors! Their last year of high school. Let me get a picture real quick before you leave." Cheryl said pulling out her camera. Kaitlyn and BB look at each other and shake their heads before turning back to Cheryl and smiling for the camera so Cheryl can get a quick picture. Six pictures later, the teens run out the door to meet up with Seth.

"Alright, next person in line, please. What is your name?" The secretary asked when BB got to the front of the line for his new student schedule.

"Blaine Bonin." BB said looking up at the clock in the cafeteria. According to the clock, his first class started in fifteen minutes—which BB thought was fifteen minutes too long.

"Alright, here is your schedule, Mr. Bonin. You should have already received a map of the school when you attended orientation. Feel free to ask any questions if you have any. Have a great year!" The secretary said as BB smiled and left the office. BB stuffed the schedule in his pocket and went to find Kaitlyn in her line. Kaitlyn was just receiving her schedule when he walked up to talk to her.

"Did you get your schedule?" Kaitlyn asked as BB nodded his head. "Come on! Let me see it!"

BB rolled his eyes and pulled his schedule out of his pocket and handed it to Kaitlyn.

"Hmm…that sucks. It looks like you have biology with Miss Varon first class of day. Dang that sucks for you." Kaitlyn remarked reading over BB's schedule.

"So? What's wrong with having Biology first?" BB asks.

"Nothing. It's just that Miss Varon is rumored to be a little…crazy." Kaitlyn replies. "She's not a bad teacher, but I've heard she has had moments of having multiple personalities."

"After the last few months, I bet I can handle her supposed 'craziness'." BB replied. "So what does the rest of my schedule look like?"

"Let me see…second period is English with Miss Moretti. Good luck with that because she talks A LOT! Third period is math…blah. We do have history together fourth period with Mr. Ross. He is awesome! Very knowledgeable about historical facts and figures and stuff like that." Kaitlyn remarks before continuing. "After lunch, you are an aide. Really? An aide?"

"What? I tested out of French freshman year and that meant I didn't have to take a foreign language; I was a couple of credits ahead when I left Tulsa. They filled my schedule with a couple of BS classes." BB answered shrugging. Kaitlyn rolls her eyes before finishing BB's schedule.

"You suck by the way! Sixth class is your free class and last is of course Athletics. Any idea of what teams you were wanting to try out for?" Kaitlyn asks.

"Probably track because I don't think that Houston has a men's gymnastics team. Who knows? I might not join a team this year just to try to get myself back on focus." BB replied. Kaitlyn looks at him sympathetically and pats him on the shoulder.

"Don't let your past hold you back from your future. You've always been a hard worker, so don't let an asshole of a man ruin your chances of getting scholarships and going to college and getting a good job and future." Kaitlyn replies as BB quickly hugs his cousin before the bell rings.

"Alright. Don't get sappy, Blaine. Now get to class. Try to stay out of trouble until history class, OK?" Kaitlyn asks laughing as BB rolls his eyes and the cousins go their separate ways. Trying to make headway with the map, BB was trying to make it to his first class on time and not look like an idiot. After a few minutes of looking (and getting lost), BB made it to his science class before the bell rang. BB let out a sigh of relief and took the first seat he could find. He started flipping through the pages of the textbook on the desk before he was brought out of his thoughts by a random voice.

"Mind if I take this seat, Tommy?" The voice asked startling BB. BB turned to him and saw that it was the guy he played air hockey with months ago—Johnny Gargano.

"Sure you can sit there. Did you call me Tommy because my name is…?" BB tried to say before being cut off by Johnny putting his phone in front of BB.

"I know who you are BB, but did you notice that you dressed and kind of look like Tommy from the Power Rangers?" Johnny asks as BB looks at the picture than down at himself and realizing that he did look like the Green Power Ranger.

"The only thing I'm missing is the awesome martial arts abilities that Tommy has." BB replies laughing. Seconds later, the bell rang and the rest of the class scrambled to claim a seat before the teacher walked into the classroom. Miss Varon did the usual formalities of introducing herself and explaining the class setup as well as her policies about homework and stuff like that. Afterwards, she noted that there were three new students in her class joining the school; she them all introduce themselves. BB was lucky that he ended up being the third one to go.

"Alright. If you could please stand up and introduce yourself to the class, we would love to get to know a little about you." Miss Varon said with a smile. BB nodded and slow rose out of his seat.

" _God I hate talking in front of people."_ BB thought as he turned to the majority of the class and began speaking.

"Hello. My name is Blaine Bonin, but a lot of people call me BB. I'm originally from Tulsa, Oklahoma. I just moved to Houston about a month ago to live with my aunt and uncle and to finish my senior year. I'm really excited to be here and see what this place brings." BB said with a shy smile. Miss Varon smiled back and motioned that BB could sit back down.

"It's nice to meet you and we are happy to have you in the class. You said your last name was Bonin, correct?" Miss Varon asks as BB nods, "I think I've had your cousin Kaitlyn a couple semesters ago. She was a sweetheart and I can tell that you have the same attitude as her."

BB smiled and quietly sat back down as Miss Varon went over a few more things before saying that classwork will begin tomorrow and to be ready to learn as the bell rang. After getting out of class, he sees that Johnny has caught up to him.

"Where are you heading next, BB?" Johnny asks as BB looks at his schedule again.

"Umm…English with Miss Moretti." BB said trying to fold his schedule up before Johnny takes it and looks at the rest of it.

"Do you know what is pretty awesome? That we have every class together except for when you have a free period." Johnny said handing BB back his schedule.

"That actually is pretty cool. It'll be great to at least know somebody in all my classes." BB said as he and Johnny walked into their English class.

* * *

English went by pretty quickly because all she did was talk all class period…which Kaitlyn said would happen. Math went by a little slower because his teacher…he couldn't remember his name…immediately started lecturing over the first assignment. BB and Johnny were talking when they ran into Kaitlyn and Seth in front of their history class.

"Hey, Blaine." Kaitlyn said as BB waved. Seconds later, Kaitlyn saw Johnny next to BB. "Hey, Johnny! How's it going?"

"Pretty good. Are you and Seth in Mr. Ross' class, too?" Johnny asks.

"Yep. Looks like it's gonna be one big happy family in this class." Kaitlyn replies as Seth wraps an arm around her and BB rolls his eyes.

"Which means they will probably be flirting all class time and we're all gonna vomit." BB remarks as him and Johnny laugh.

"Shut up, Blaine. We should get inside before the bell rings." Kaitlyn says as the four teens walk into the classroom and pick their seats with Johnny and BB sitting in the third row with Kaitlyn and Seth sitting in the row behind them. After everybody takes their seats, in comes a man wearing a black cowboy hat and he stands at the head of the class.

"Good morning, class. I am Mr. Ross, but you can call me 'Good Ole JR.'" Mr. Ross said as he introduced himself. "I was born and raised in the great state of Oklahoma. Let me tell you that I am tougher than a two dollar steak and if try to be disruptive or be a pain in my class, business will pick up and there's gonna be a slobberknocker. If you come to class ready to learn, then we will be good friends." BB smirked at the guy because he loved that he was from Oklahoma as well and that he used sayings like 'slobberknocker' like his grandpa did. BB sat back and listened to Mr. Ross, knowing that he was going to enjoy this class for sure. After his introduction to the class, Mr. Ross was cool enough to let the class talk amongst themselves for the last few minutes of class. BB was fiddling with his schedule when Johnny snatched it before BB fully noticed.

"What is with everybody taking that from me today? Should it be public knowledge what classes everyone has in a semester?" BB asks.

"In high school…yes! Come on, I'm just curious on if we have anymore classes than this together. Let's see…looks like we only have athletics together. That sucks." Johnny replies handing BB back his schedule as the bell rings. The teens get up and leave the class and stand right next to the class door.

"We're heading to the cafeteria for lunch. You guys wanna join us?" Kaitlyn asks.

"Sure, but I need to find my locker to put my stuff up. I'll meet you there?" BB asks in reply. Kaitlyn nods as Seth and Kaitlyn go to the cafeteria while BB goes to find his locker while Johnny follows.

"Maybe I can help you. What is your locker number?" Johnny asks as BB skims his schedule for his locker.

"Hmm…it looks like it's Locker 117." BB answers as Johnny slaps him on the back.

"Lucky for you, Blainey-boy! I can show you exactly where that is because my locker is 118. Follow me." Johnny replies as they walk upstairs to their lockers.

"Thanks for your help, Johnny, I really appreciate it." BB said messing with the dial to open his locker.

"Don't think much of it, BB. I was where you are now last year. See, I was the new kid when my parents decided to move down to Houston. I felt very awkward around this school until I met my partner-in-crime, Tomosso. We became quick friends and been an inseparable team ever since." Johnny said smiling. BB was about to say something before his locker door is quickly slammed. BB and Johnny turn around to find two guys in trucker hats staring them down.

"Hey, Johnny Cake. Where's your buddy Ciampa?" The guy with sunglasses on asks. BB looks at Johnny confused.

"Is that your friend you were talking about?" BB asks as Johnny nods.

"They knowwhere Tomosso is. Since they were the ones who did that to him. Don't you, Dawson?" Johnny replies glaring at the guy with the glasses. The two other guys start laughing.

"That's right. That mouthy sum' bitch got what he had coming to him. Didn't he, Dash?" Dawson remarks.

"Yep, but look, Dawson. Little Lonely Gargano found himself a new loser to hang out with." Dash says looking right at BB. "This must be the guy I heard Rollins talking about during football practice. Her little cousin. The Hillbilly Okie. He doesn't look like anything special. Then again that whore Rollins is dating isn't much to look at either."

"You watch your mouth, you ass…." BB tries to say defending Kaitlyn, but him and Johnny are quickly grabbed by their shirt collars and shoved against the lockers.

"You're lucky you don't know who we are or you would have already been punched in the mouth. Allow us to introduce ourselves. I'm Scott Dawson and the guy strangling Johnny Cake is Dash Wilder. We live by the ideal of no flips, just fists." Dawson says bringing his fist into BB's face. "Now because of your mouth, you four-eyes and Johnny Cake are gonna get a welcome to school present." Dawson says winding up. BB was waiting for the punch to happen, but it never came.

"Try it and see what happens." A guy says grabbing Dawson's fist. BB didn't know who it was, but he did notice the number ten on the jersey he was wearing.

"This isn't your fight, Dillinger, so piss off." Dash says. BB looks at Johnny, wondering who this random savior was. Johnny mouths out the name _"Tye Dillinger"_ as Dash and Dawson turn their attention to Tye, but still not letting go of BB or Johnny.

"Oh, I would highly recommend letting them go. I mean how would it look if two of Coach Bradshaw's football players took out a couple of people on the volleyball team. You would guys would never get to play again, so unless you wanna see your football scholarships get flushed down the toilet, I recommend setting them down…now!" Tye said getting in Dawson's face. After a moment of deciding, Dash and Dawson shake their heads and let the two younger teens go.

"Little shits aren't even worth it." Dash says as him and Dawson walk away. BB straightens out his shirt as Tye comes to check out him and Johnny.

"You guys alright?" Tye asks. BB and Johnny both nod.

"I'm good. How about you, Johnny?" BB asks.

"Nothing broken. I'm glad you showed up when you did. Thanks, Tye." Johnny replies.

"No worries. I just hate bullies. Nobody deserves to be intimidated like that if they have done nothing wrong." Tye answers before turning back to BB and shaking his hand. "You're the new kid, aren't you? Nice to meet you. Tye Dillinger."

"I'm Blaine Bonin, but you can call me BB." BB replies shaking Tye's hand. "Me and Johnny were heading to the cafeteria for lunch. Would you like to join us?"

Tye smiles and shakes his head no. "I'm good, but thanks for asking. I'll see you in practice later." Tye says to Johnny before walking away.

"How do you know this Tye Dillinger guy?" BB asks Johnny.

"We play on the volleyball team together." Johnny replies.

"I thought you were on the wrestling team since you were called Johnny WRESTLING?" BB asks again as Johnny laughs.

"Yeah during the spring semester. During the fall I play on the volleyball team with Tye. Now all I know about Tye Dillinger is that his nickname is the Perfect 10 because he is one of the best looking people in school. I do find it weird that even though he is pretty popular, he doesn't hang out with anybody. Seems to like being a loner, I guess. No matter, I think he's pretty cool." Johnny replied shrugging. "Come on, let's get to the lunch line before it gets too long."

After waiting a few minutes in the lunch line, BB and Johnny managed to find the table that Seth and Kaitlyn were sitting at along with Evan, AJ, and Punk.

"What took you guys so long? We were wondering if Blaine got lost." Kaitlyn said which got everyone laughing.

"I wish. BB and me had a run-in with Dash and Dawson." Johnny replied as Seth rolled his eyes.

"Those two are always picking fights with people smaller than them. Bullies like that are so stupid. How did you guys not get to get slaughtered?" Seth asks.

"This Tye Dillinger guy stopped them. I asked him to join us for lunch, but he declined and went on his way. It was a little weird if you ask me." BB answered before taking a bite of his burger.

"From what I've seen, he doesn't talk much with anybody. He's a cool dude, but I guess he prefers solitude or something." Evan said. "I wouldn't take it personally. If you ask me, I think he has his guard up for some reason. Like he doesn't want to trust people."

"Don't blame him. A lot of people here are either two-faced or assholes." Punk replied.

* * *

For the rest of lunch, everybody talked about their classes and other different subjects. After his class as being a counselor's aide—which was just him sitting because the counselor was out for the day—BB spent his study hall class wondering where Tye went because he wanted to personally thank him for his help earlier, but BB couldn't find him in the halls between classes. In athletics, BB was in the locker room putting his contacts in when Johnny came up from behind.

"What plans do you have for class today?" Johnny asks.

"Trying to avoid doing anything athletic for as long as possible today." BB answers laughing. "What about you?"

"I wish I could say that, but I have volleyball practice. We have a game coming up. I know! You could come out to the volleyball court and watch practice. Make it look like you're doing something." Johnny suggests as BB shrugs and thought _"Why not?"_ as he follows Johnny to the volleyball court. BB goes to sit on the bleachers, but is stopped by some blond guy with a selfie stick in his hands.

"Who in the world are you, uggo? What are you even doing here? You're not even on the volleyball team." The blond guy asks. Johnny sees that there is some conflict brewing and decides to walk over before a fight starts.

"This is BB. He just moved here and I invited him to watch practice." Johnny said motioning to BB. "BB, this is Tyler Breeze. He is the volleyball team's resident selfie king and likes to refer to himself as 'Prince Pretty'."

"Watch it! So…BB…are you thinking about joining the team? I mean I know there's a spot open because Ciampa is out with an injury." Tyler asked condescendingly while looking at Johnny as Johnny glares at him.

"I'm thinking about it. I haven't fully decided." BB replied which got Tyler to start laughing. "What is so funny?"

"Sorry, I just don't see you as a volleyball player much less an athlete. What exactly can you do, uggo?" Tyler asks. BB smirks as he looks around.

"Watch me!" BB quickly says before he quickly does a round off into a back handspring. BB keeps doing backflips until he reaches the other side of the court. A few people caught BB doing his stunt—including Tye—and gave him a nice applause which got BB to blush a little bit. BB does a small bow and walks back over to Johnny and Tyler.

"Was that athletic enough for you?" BB asks as Johnny starts laughing.

"Whatever." Tyler quickly says before walking away looking annoyed.

"Guess you showed him." Johnny says still laughing. BB smiles and quickly shrugs before they both hear a whistle. They look over to the side and see the volleyball coach walking towards them.

"Alright, Gargano. Get on the court. Gotta get SOME practice in today." The coach says he catches BB trying to sneak away. "You! Come back here."

BB slowly turns around and walks back to the coach.

"What's your name kid?" The coach asks.

"Blaine Bonin, sir." BB replies.

"Bonin, huh. What exactly are you doing here? You're not on the team."

"You see, this is my first day here and I didn't have another place to go for athletics so Johnny invited me to watch the volleyball team practice." BB answers as the coach starts to study him. BB looks at him awkwardly.

"I normally do not do this, but I am kind of in a jam. I actually need one more player for a game coming up next week since we lost a player due to injury. Would you want to practice with the team today? If you're decent enough, I might actually make you a permanent member of the team. What do you say?" The coach asks. BB really didn't want to do much of anything today, but the coach was asking him if he wanted to help out for the day.

" _Volleyball, huh? Who knows? Maybe I might be decent at it. At least this way I'm actually doing something to earn my athletics credit instead of hiding away for an hour."_ BB thought before answering the coach.

"Sure. I'll practice with you guys." BB said as the coach pats him on the back.

"That's what I like to hear. I would say get warmed up before getting on the court, but I saw your little acrobatics routine earlier." The coach said as BB started to turn red. "Now get on the court and let's see what you can do."

After practice, BB and Johnny just left the school building and were walking towards the parking lot.

"I don't know what you're talking about, but I was horrible out there. I made an embarrassment out of myself." BB said.

"You did pretty well. I think the coach is happy to have you on the team." Johnny replied.

"How do you even know if I'm even on the team? I can't serve and I crashed into you three times. I highly doubt that." BB answered laughing.

"We've had worse believe me." Johnny says.

"I'm surprised that your coach is even taking new players at this point in the season."

"Ever since Tomosso got injured, we've needed a player that can halfway decently play. You have been the first player to have any sort of skill even though you've never really played before." Johnny said which got BB to remember what he wanted to ask Johnny earlier.

"You brought up Tomosso earlier when we were getting picked on by Dash and Dawson. And people have been harassing you all day about him. If you don't mind my asking, what happened to Tomosso?" BB asked as Johnny's smile disappeared.

"I'll be honest with you. I'm not exactly great when it comes to making new friends...I feel awkward in groups. But when I met Tomosso, it was a weird connection. Anyways, what happened to him was a glorified mugging. Me and Tomosso were leaving practice late when Dash, Dawson, and a few others blindsided us. Knocked me out, but Tomosso got much worse." Johnny answered sadly.

"How much worse?" BB asked.

"Grade 2 Concussion and a broken leg among other bumps and bruises he suffered. You see Tomosso could sometimes be hard to get along with and didn't come off as one of the nicest people. For some reason, Dash and Dawson hated him. Those two always tried to pick fights with him and with me because I was friends with him. The fight didn't happen on school grounds, there wasn't much the teachers could do to help." Johnny replied.

BB looked at Johnny with sympathy because it wasn't fair he couldn't get redemption for himself and his friend that was brutally attacked. It wasn't right. BB figured that the best thing he could do for Johnny is to be his friend.

"I'm very sorry to hear that happened to Tomosso. I hope he has a speedy recovery." BB says patting Johnny on the back.

 _"Man...Johnny reminds me of myself so much. Shy and quiet especially in group situations. I wonder if there was a way that I can help...or we help each other. I GOT AN IDEA!"_ BB thought as he came up with a great idea.

"I was gonna ask you earlier, but Kaitlyn is bringing a few of her friends over next weekend for some sleepover thing. I wanted to see if you wanted to stay over next Friday night too…I don't want to be overrun by girls." BB says laughing. Johnny looked a little nervous at the invitation, but seconds later he was able to crack a smile.

"Yeah. It sounds like fun." Johnny replied.

"Excellent! You can ride with us after school on Friday." BB says. "Speaking of rides, do you need a ride home today Johnny?"

"I'm good. I can wal…." Johnny tries to decline, starting to look nervous again as BB cuts him off.

"What kind of friend would I be if I let you walk home by yourself after hearing that story? I don't trust those assholes. I don't think Seth will have an issue giving you a ride home." BB says as Johnny tries to decline again. "Just give me the peace in mind and let us give you a ride, please. Besides...what are friends for?"

"Since you put it that way…sure." Johnny replied as BB smiled.

"Who knew that the two most awkward teens in school would start to become good friends?" BB remarked as the two laughed as they heard a faint whistle coming from the football field.

"It sounds like football practice is over. Let's go find Seth's car and pester him to take you home." BB said as they walked through the parking lot to find Seth's car.

* * *

Luckily for BB, it didn't take too much harassment for Seth to give Johnny a ride home. After dropping Johnny off at his house, Seth took BB and Kaitlyn home. BB entered the house and saw Mike coming out of his office.

"Hey, Blaine. Where's Kaitlyn?" Mike asks. BB rolls his eyes and smirks.

"Outside telling Seth goodbye…over and over again." BB replied smiling as Mike looks at the window and rolls his eyes.

"Teenagers…anyways how was the first day?" Mike asks again.

"It wasn't that bad. Besides the fact of being the new kid and looking lost everywhere I went, it was pretty fun. I was asked by the volleyball coach to join the volleyball team, so that was pretty cool." BB said as Mike quickly scooped him into a hug. It caught BB off guard, but he didn't mind.

"Way to go, Blaine. I'm proud of you. I'm happy to see that your first day went really well. Anyways, dinner will be ready in a couple of hours." Mike says walking into the kitchen. BB smiles as he walks upstairs to his bedroom.

Minutes later, BB is in his bedroom changing out of the flannel shirt leaving him in his tank top. He is pulling the elastic band out of his hair as Kaitlyn enters his bedroom after a quick knock. He turns around and rolls his eyes.

"I see that you stopped saying goodbye to Seth. Did he give you back your gum?" BB asked sarcastically.

"Haha. Very funny, smart ass." Kaitlyn replies slapping BB on the shoulder. "Word around the athletics circle is that you are on the volleyball team."

"Well I wouldn't call it joined. I would say it's more of a trial basis…wait! Who told you?" BB asked confused.

"Becky told me. It's a very small circle, Blaine. Becky is really good friends with the Irish exchange student, Finn Balor. Finn and Becky were talking when somebody passed by talking about how the new kid was doing a gymnastics routine during volleyball practice." Kaitlyn answered.

"How did Becky know it was me? They didn't say any names." BB asked curious on how Becky figured it out.

"Not going to lie, but she said that they said that thought I was going to join the volleyball team because you looked so much like me from a distance." Kaitlyn answered as BB rolled his eyes.

"Well I guess that we still look like twins even as teenagers." BB answered laughing which got Kaitlyn also laughing.

"Guess so. I thought you were wanting to stay 'under the radar' and try to stay unnoticed this school year?"

BB smirks and nods. "Well yeah that was my plan. Because you know how shy I am when it comes to new things. Especially meeting new people."

"Yeah I get ya. But I have to say that your 'under the radar' plan is off to a shitty start." Kaitlyn remarks before she remembered what she has wanting to ask BB for a few days. "I've been wanting to ask what plans you had next Friday night since AJ, Renee, and a few others will be hanging out here? I highly doubt that you want to be the only guy with a bunch of teenage girls."

"Don't give me too much of a thought next weekend, Katie. I was going to match up your teenage girl count with a teenage boy count. I asked Johnny Gargano if he wanted to come over and I bet Evan would have no problem either." BB replied.

"What's with you and becoming so buddy-buddy with Johnny Gargano?" Kaitlyn asks with pure curiosity.

"Is there something wrong with Johnny?" BB asks narrowing his eyes at Kaitlyn as she puts her hands up in surrender.

"Of course not! Don't be so defensive. It's just that before talking with you, Johnny Gargano didn't talk to very many people because he has had tendencies of being socially awkward, quiet, and shy." Kaitlyn answers.

"Really? Doesn't that remind you of somebody?" BB asks as Kaitlyn thinks for a moment. As soon as she figures it out, Kaitlyn taps her forehead after her "duh" moment.

"Exactly. Just like me. I don't know, Katie, but after talking with Johnny, I feel like we're going to have a really good friendship. We have a bunch of stuff in common besides the antisocial tendencies. Besides, I think that Johnny would fit in perfectly with your friends." BB replies as Kaitlyn punches his shoulder.

"Look, shithead. They are not MY group of friends. They are OUR group of friends. You have gotta learn to not have such a pity party personality." Kaitlyn says as BB slowly frowns and sits on the bed. Kaitlyn sighs and sits next to her cousin and wraps her arm around his shoulder. "I do think it's really sweet that you are trying to include Johnny in our group. You're the first person he's actually hung around with other than Tomosso."

"It's horrible about what happened to Tomosso. I hope he gets better soon. Actually, Katie, I think that people like me and Johnny just need to feel accepted by people. I saw the look on Johnny's face when I invited him to our house next weekend. It was the same look I had whenever I went with you to that up all night party at Evan's." BB replies.

"I get what you mean. Hopefully by graduation you will be much more confident in yourself. I want you to see what me and parents have seen for years and that is that you are much more than you give yourself credit for. You are smart, sweet, and intelligent. I honestly think that hanging out with you will have the same effect on Johnny's self-esteem. You guys together can build each other up." Kaitlyn says as she gets off BB's bed. "Come on, let's go see if dad needs help with dinner."

BB starts to follow Kaitlyn, but as the exit BB's bedroom, BB grabs Kaitlyn in a tight hug which Kaitlyn easily reciprocates.

"Thanks for always being there for me and just simply being my rock." BB says smiling. Kaitlyn gives a small smile as she gives him a small kiss on the cheek.

"Anytime, Blaine. I'll always be there for you." Kaitlyn answers as she heads downstairs to the kitchen as BB stands there smiling thinking how lucky it he is that he has his cousin in his life.

* * *

 **The first day of school is OVER! Seems like a regular day in the life of a teenager: books, classes, new friends, and the unfortunate bully. Hopefully you guys enjoyed the chapter. Thanks to everybody who has been bearing with my inconsistent updates for both stories!**

 **I just wanted to let everybody know that I do have a poll available on my profile for my other story "Learning the Ropes and Proving You Belong." If interested, jump over to my profile and vote.**

 **NOTE: I made the announcement about the poll at the end of the most recent chapter of "Learning the Ropes", but I forgot to make it available on my profile until two days later (FAIL haha).**

 **As always, thank you very much for reading the chapter and stay tuned for the next exciting chapter!**


	11. Friends and Revelations

**After a long delay, here is the next chapter. The last few months have been crazy, but things will be winding down for about a month, so hopefully that means more writing time. Like always, I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

As much as he didn't want to admit, BB was pretty excited that he was going to have a few friends over to hang out with him at his…well his aunt and uncles…house. A year ago, if anybody would have said that he was going to have friends come over, BB would have called them crazy. BB always wanted to have friends come over, but because he was scared about his friends finding out about his dad, or his dad going crazy and attacking his friends. It wasn't a risk that BB was willing to take, but now that he is in a more stable environment, he was more than happy to have friends visit.

"BB!" Johnny to snap BB out of his thoughts. BB looks around as Johnny laughs at him. "Daydreaming or something? Was practice that boring?"

"It wasn't. I was just off in my own little world thinking." BB replied.

"Are you sure that it's alright that I ride with you guys?" Johnny asks as the two walk out of the gym towards the parking lot. BB rolls his eyes and laughs.

"Believe me. It's completely alright. All you have to do is ask and we can give you a ride. Don't worry about it." BB says.

"Is Kaitlyn alright with that?"

"Well…she'll just have to get used to that." BB answers laughing as they reach Kaitlyn's car. Seconds later, Kaitlyn and Seth make their way to the car.

"Are you joining us tonight for the fun and excitement?" BB asks.

"Not this time, Blaine. Football team has a scrimmage two hours away tonight. There's always next time." Seth replies. "Speaking of that, I've gotta get to the field. See you all later…especially you." Seth says kissing Kaitlyn and walking towards the football field. BB and Johnny roll their eyes as the three teens get into the car.

* * *

About an hour later, the three make it home after making a pit stop at the grocery store to pick the necessary…junk…items to get them through the night. After putting the bags in the kitchen, BB takes Johnny upstairs to his room to put his bags away.

"So how many people are going to be here at this little thing tonight?" Johnny asked putting his bag near BB's closet. He turns to BB and he shrugs.

"Not sure. I know that Kaitlyn is having our friends AJ Lee and Becky Lynch stay over. As for the guys division, it's you, me and Evan. Me and her both invited a couple of extra people to have fun, but we don't know if any of them are going to show up." BB replied.

"Like who?"

"She wouldn't tell me who she invited, but I can tell you my invitation list was pretty small because most of the guys in our group are on the football team and they had a scrimmage tonight. I did invite Dean because if Renee is coming than Dean will not be far behind…don't tell him I said that. I also invited Chad Gable because he's pretty cool and we have math and English together, so we've started to become friends. I also invited Tye…." BB explained before being cut off by Johnny.

"You invited Tye Dillinger?" Johnny asks as BB answers with a nod. "Well check him off the list. From what I've seen and heard, Tye Dillinger likes to keep to himself. He barely even goes to school functions like dances and awards assemblies."

"I figured. I was just being nice. Let him know that he can join us if he wanted to hang out with anybody." BB said as he put his backpack next to his desk. Johnny walks over and looks at a picture sitting on the desk.

"Is this a little BB?" Johnny asks laughing. "Aww…you look so cute." Johnny laughs harder when BB hits him in the shoulder.

"Yep. That was taken after my first day of third grade. My mom picked me up from school and took me and my brother to this photographer friend of hers and we got our pictures taken."

"The lady in the picture your mother?" Johnny asks as BB nods. "Does she live here in Houston too or is she back in Oklahoma?"

BB shook his head and looked down. _"I should have known that this was going to happen eventually. Outside of family and Uncle Steve, I've never really talked about my mother. If we are going to become as good as friends as Johnny says we are…I'm gonna have to eventually let people into my personal life."_ BB thought as he took a deep breath.

"She doesn't live here or back in Oklahoma. Honestly…she died about six years ago. Cancer. She was a strong fighter. I miss her." BB answered with a sad tone in his voice.

"I'm very sorry. I bet she was a very nice person." Johnny said trying as best as he could to not upset BB any more.

"Thank you. She was a very nice person. Don't worry, I'm ok. It still hurts a bit, but I'm doing much better. I've been the happiest I've been in a long time."

"That's good to hear. I'll be honest with you, there were a few rumors spread about you whenever you first started. Can I ask if any of the rumors are true?" Johnny asks. BB shrugs.

"I have no problem with it. Ask away."

"If you ask me, some of them are pretty stupid. To sum them up, you were sent here because you were either on parole, had a drug problem, or got a girl pregnant." Johnny said. BB couldn't help but crack up laughing after hearing those rumors.

"I'm sorry that I'm laughing, Johnny, but that was actually very hilarious. Believe me when I say that those rumors are the farthest from the truth. The truth is that I'm here because of…." BB replied before stopping himself a little too quick.

"Because of?" Johnny asks in return.

"It's because of personal reasons I'm quite honestly not ready to talk about just yet. I'm very sorry." BB replies as Johnny gives him a quick pat on the shoulder.

"Don't worry about it. You'll know when you're ready." Johnny replies rolling out his sleeping bag on the floor.

"Thank you. Now we better get downstairs before Kaitlyn gets pissed she has to do all the work down there." BB says as the two teens head downstairs.

* * *

Hours later, Evan, AJ, Renee and Becky have arrived and everybody was hanging out in the living room with the party just getting started.

"Is it just going to be the seven of us tonight?" BB asks Kaitlyn.

"I don't know who you invited, but I have one more person coming. She'll be here in a bit. She had a few things to finish up before she got here. How about you? Anybody else you invited coming?"

"I invited a couple people, but I don't think they are coming. For the guys, it'll just be us three." BB replies as there is a knock at the door. As Kaitlyn opens the door, a blonde girl with a bag on her shoulder and cupcakes in her hands.

"Guys. This is Candice LeRae. Candice, you already know AJ and Renee; this is Evan, Johnny, and my cousin Blaine—who goes by BB usually." Kaitlyn says introducing her friend and everybody greets her with their hellos. BB smiles and turns to Johnny, who smile has not left his face since he saw Candice. BB gives Johnny a few seconds to try to compose himself, but when he sees that that won't happen, he gives Johnny a quick nudge on the shoulder to snap him out of his trance.

"Oh…it's very nice to meet you." Johnny finally answers with a small blush on his face. Candice laughs and gives Johnny a smile before starting a conversation with Kaitlyn.

"Looks like somebody has a crush on Miss LeRae." BB says as Evan shakes his head.

"Not just a crush, BB. He looooves her." Evan says laughing as Johnny punches him in the arm.

"Shut up! I do not have a crush on her." Johnny quickly answers, but BB and Evan give him a knowing look. "Alright…maybe a little bit."

"There's nothing wrong with that. So…when are you going to ask her out on a date?" BB asks as Johnny's go wide.

"It's too soon! We just met!" Johnny answers as BB and Evan roll their eyes.

"That's kind of the point of going out on a date. So, you can get to know a person. What have you got to lose, Johnny?" Evan asks.

"My dignity."

"We're not asking you to do it now. Do it when you're ready…or two weeks maximum…whichever comes first." BB says patting Johnny on the shoulder as he sighs in surrender after thinking about it for a moment.

"Alright. I'll do it." Johnny finally answers as Kaitlyn sets a bag of games on the living room table.

"Since there are enough of us here, the girls have decided to invite the boys to participate in a few games. Kinda like a classic Battle of the Sexes competition. What do you say, boys?" Kaitlyn asks as BB stands next to Kaitlyn.

"As much fun as that sounds. It really isn't fair for the guys. You girls have a five on three advantage. Where are…." BB starts to ask as the doorbell rings. BB and Kaitlyn both yell for the person to come in as Seth walks into the house with a gym bag.

"What are you doing here? I thought you had a scrimmage tonight and wouldn't be back until late." Kaitlyn asks as she gives Seth a hug.

"We did. Got a huge lead early in the game, so the other team ran the clock the rest of the game to end their torture as soon as possible. Since we got back earlier than expected AND since I was invited to this little shindig by Blaine, I thought it would be fun to hang out with a few friends for the night." Seth answers as BB smirks at Kaitlyn.

"Looks like it's now five against four. It's almost an even game, dear Katie." BB says as Kaitlyn glares at him.

"Am I missing something?" Seth asks as Evan waves him over from the dueling cousins.

"Yep. You pretty much walked into a Bonin Battle. Kaitlyn issued a challenge for a Battle of the Sexes and BB pretty much accepted…but there are more girls than guys as you can see and BB is calling foul." Evan answers as Seth looks over at BB and Kaitlyn talking about something.

"Since we've been dating, Kaitlyn can be very competitive. I guess we'll find out if Blaine is just as competitive." Seth says as Johnny speaks up.

"I can answer that now…yes! When we first met at the arcade, me and BB played against Kaitlyn and Becky Lynch in air hockey. They're both very competitive, but in the end, nobody walks away with feelings hurt from what I saw." Johnny answers. Seth quickly remembers something as he walks back to the two cousins who are still discussing the game.

"I don't see what the big deal is about having one of your friends sitting out each game so it can be four against four. It's only fair." BB suggests as Kaitlyn shakes her head.

"No, it's not. The point of the games is to get everybody involved. Even if you are missing one man on your team." Kaitlyn replies as Seth steps in.

"Hold on a second, you two. I don't think we have to worry about it not being uneven anymore, Blaine." Seth explains as BB looks at him confused. "You're not going to believe who pulled into your driveway after I did."

BB and Kaitlyn were about to ask who it was, but a knock on the door silenced the cousins as Seth went to answer the door—because he already knew who it was. Five seconds later, the eyes of everybody in the room went wide as they saw Tye Dillinger walk into the house—gym bag intact.

"I thought you said he wasn't coming?" Johnny asked as he walked up to BB.

"That's what he said. I guess he changed his mind. I'm not complaining." BB replies giving Johnny a fist bump.

"We're glad that you are here, Tye." BB says acknowledging Tye's entrance. "I don't know about you, Katie, but let the games begin."

"What did I miss?" Tye asks Seth as Seth waves him over to where the guys were standing.

"Don't worry about it. We'll explain everything to you. You probably weren't expecting anything like this, were you?" Seth asks as Kaitlyn began setting up the first game.

"Alright. So the score is tied and the last game is Truth or Dare War. The game is pretty much like war, but with a small twist. The loser must answer the truth or do the dare that the winner decides. Even guy will face off with a girl every 5 rounds. I'll start off with Blaine." Kaitlyn says explaining the rules as she grabs BB by the arm to the table where the deck of cards was placed. "On the count of three, we each reveal our cards and let fate be decided."

BB and Kaitlyn count to three and flip over their cards. BB was excited that he was able to pull out a nine, but quickly cringed when Kaitlyn revealed a Jack.

" _Oh shit."_ BB thought as he groaned at the end result.

"Oh what am I going to have Blaine do? Hmm…." Kaitlyn said as she thought of a punishment for her cousin. "I know! I'll keep it simple first round. Tell the truth. How did you get the nickname BB?"

BB glares at Kaitlyn because he knows that she knows how he got it. BB rolls his eyes and sighs.

"I usually tell people that to call me BB because it is a shortened version of my first and middle name—Blaine Bryce-Michael—and that I didn't like being called Blaine. That's partially true. I do like the name Blaine and BB is short for Blaine Bryce-Michael. The real reason that I got the nickname BB was that when I was little, I was a chubby kid. My mother used to call me her little butterball. As I got taller and skinnier, the nickname got shortened to just BB…and I just kept it." BB answered honestly which got a couple chuckles from the crowd.

"Aww…that's so cute. Who knew that's how BB became BB." AJ said pinching one of BB's cheeks.

"Alright, so that's how the game will work." Kaitlyn says handing a deck out to each of the girls. "I've already determined the pairs: Me and Seth; AJ and Evan; Becky and BB; Candice and Johnny; Tye and Renee. The pairs will go each round and play how me and Blaine played. One rule, the dares MUST be appropriate. Whenever one opponent of a pair has the whole deck, they win their pair. The team with the most survivors—men or women—will win the game. Then again…we will all win because we learn new stuff about each other."

Seth and Kaitlyn began the match with Seth pulling a five against Kaitlyn's two. He dared her to kiss him…which got groans from a few people. Becky and BB went next with Becky drawing a King to BB's seven.

"Alright, laddie. Time to let your hair down. Give me that hair tie." Becky dares BB.

"Why?" BB asks confused.

"Because I've known you for how long and I've always seen you with a ponytail. You need to loosen up a little bit. Not gonna lie, laddie, it's on my bucket list because that's how many of us could tell the difference between you and Katie. So you're gonna keep yourself like that for the rest of this weekend. It's a dare…you gotta do it." Becky replies laughing. BB groans as he loosens and removes the band from his hair, letting it fall down his back and on his shoulders. BB was silently thanking genetics that as he got older, his hair was straight unlike the wavier hair he had when he was little.

"You know…you look weird like that. You're always slicked back and nothing out of place. It's interesting seeing you loosen up a little bit." Johnny says getting a laugh out of the rest of the group. BB smirks and rolls his eyes. BB goes for the tie around his wrist to put his hair up again, but he gets stopped by Becky grabbing his wrist.

"Nice try, laddy. Hand them ALL OVER." Becky says trying to be intimidating. BB rolls his eyes and slips the band from around his left wrist and gives it to Becky. Becky glares at BB, knowing that he's hiding something. He lets out a sigh and removes the extra band from his right wrist. Becky takes the bands and puts them in her pocket.

"I don't know about you, but I'm saying forget the cards. Let's just play a little mix of Truth or Dare and Never Have I Ever." AJ suggests playing with the one card left in her hand.

"You're just suggesting that because you're about to lose!" Evan answers in reply. "But that's fine by me. How about you guys?" Everybody looks around and nods before gathering up all the cards and cleaning up the living room before starting the next game.

After everything was reorganized, everybody was sitting around the dining room table getting ready to start the next game.

"Alright. We all know how to play these games. Who wants to go first?" Kaitlyn asks as everybody looks around the room. After a moment of silence, Johnny speaks up.

"I'll go first." Johnny said which honestly shocked a few people. Johnny looked around at who he wanted to ask first.

"Candice." Johnny said startling Candice. "Truth or Dare?"

Candice thought for a moment because she didn't think that she would have to answer first. "Truth."

"OK…Candice…Would you ever want to go out on a date with me?" Johnny asks. Candice's eyes go wide as BB and Evan fist bump under the table. They wanted him to ask her, but neither one of them expected Johnny to go for it this way.

Candice stammered for a moment as she was caught completely off guard by Johnny's question. Seconds later, Candice answered the question, "You bet…how about next Friday?"

"It's a date." Johnny answered with a huge grin on his face. BB, who was sitting next to Johnny, gave him a pat on the back.

"Way to go!" BB whispered as the game continued to play. After about three rounds and finding out some amusing facts about everybody (including BB's ability to do the splits and fear of heights, Candice's baking hobby, Tye being born in Canada, and Kaitlyn's weird obsession with unicorns, the game came back to Evan.

"BB." Evan said as BB looked up towards him. "Truth or dare?"

"Truth." BB answered. He hasn't picked one dare all night and it has done him well.

"Alright, BB. I have a feeling you were not being truthful about something earlier. What exactly is the real reason why you left Oklahoma for Texas?" Johnny asks. BB's eyes go wide as Seth and Kaitlyn look at each other since they are the only two who know the real reason.

"I'm here for personal reasons. Stuff going on at home and my uncle wanted me to have a good education, so here I am." BB replied. Evan smirked, but was not impressed with the answer.

"BB, I mean what is the REAL reason. Nobody knows much about you except for Kaitlyn. I don't mean to be an ass, but how do we know that you're not here because you got arrested or you knocked a girl up." Evan replied.

"None of that shit is true and you know it. He answered the question now lay off!" Kaitlyn answers quickly jumping to her cousin's defense.

"Come on, Kaitlyn. We're among friends here. How can we not be better friends if we don't know much about them and to help them make their lives better? I thought we were all friends." Evan replies.

"That's a low blow, Evan. The point of this game was to have fun, not to delve into Blaine's personal life." Seth says which starts an argument. After a minute of hearing the bickering, BB decided that he heard enough.

"ENOUGH!" BB screams as he looks down at the floor and as everybody turned towards him. For the brief minutes since being asked the question, BB had been having an internal battle as to either drop the subject or finally admit the truth. It was only a couple months ago that these incidences happened, so everything was so fresh on his mind. In the end, if he was wanting to become good friends with Evan and Johnny, he needed to explain the whole truth…no matter how much it hurt. "Evan wants to hear the full truth…I'll tell everybody the full truth."

"Blaine, you don't have to do this. It hasn't been that long. You don't owe anybody the truth." Kaitlyn says trying to talk BB out of it.

"Katie, If I don't, people will either make worse rumors or they will find out on their own and that would hurt our friendship even more. Part of me needs to do this." BB explains with an almost monotonous tone. Kaitlyn walks over to BB and gives him a quick hug. BB takes a deep breath before starting the truth.

"You want the truth…you got it. I moved here from Oklahoma because of events that have built up over at least the last four years. The only person who saw any image of my parents was Johnny when he found the picture with me, my older brother, and my mother. My mother passed away years ago due to cancer. She was a strong fighter and it was because of her that I'm here." BB started.

"If your mom passed away, where's your dad?" Johnny asks hesitantly, having a feeling that it was going to be a touchy subject.

"My dad…my dad is in a correctional facility in Oklahoma City. He was arrested three months ago on drug and violence crimes." BB admitted which stunned everybody.

"You mean like assault and battery?" AJ asks. BB nods slowly.

"More like domestic assault."

"Domestic assault usually means that…." Evan says to himself before fully understanding what BB was trying to say.

"Yes, Evan. That's exactly what it means. For the last four or so years ever since my mom died, me and my older brother were physically and mentally abused by my father." BB said with his eyes starting to water. Everyone was looking around completely stunned and not sure what to say. Evan looked down at the floor feeling completely guilty. He knew there was a reason, but he was not expecting THIS to be the reason.

"I'm living in Houston because my dad is a total asshole. In the last two or three months, I was in the hospital twice, had a broken arm, a concussion, and I was almost molested. I'm here because my uncle and aunt were worried for my safety and my life was in a tailspin. I haven't told anybody because I'm still trying to come with everything. Coming to terms with the fact that man who was supposed my father doesn't even want me to exist. That's the REAL REASON! Are you satisfied?" BB asks before he gets up from the table and leaves the room.

"I hope you're happy!" Kaitlyn says glaring at Evan who can't keep the guilt off his face.

"Look. When I asked the question, never in my wildest assumptions did I think that Blaine was gonna answer like that. You've heard the rumors, Kaitlyn. I just wanted to confirm that none of them were true." Evan replied. "I better go apologize. Do you have any idea where he went?" Kaitlyn nodded and pointed out towards the living room as Evan nodded and left the kitchen.

* * *

BB was sitting out on the front porch trying to reign his emotions together after telling everyone in the kitchen probably the darkest secret from his past. He also started twirling a piece of his hair around his finger…another reason he always kept his hair in a ponytail because whenever he got sad or nervous, he always played with his hair.

"Blaine? Are you okay?" Evan asked after opening the front door. BB jumped at the voice because he was expecting—or wanting—anybody to come after him.

"Yeah I'm fine." BB replied unconvincingly due to his voice sounding hoarse due to him crying for the last ten minutes. BB didn't turn to look at Evan because he knew he looked like a wreck.

"Blaine, I know what I asked you earlier was completely out of place; I wanted to tell you that I am extremely sorry about that. You must believe me when that when I asked you that question, the answer you gave was the farthest from what I was expecting. I should have respected your wishes about telling us when you're ready and not force it out of you like I did. I feel like utter shit and really regret what I did. I hope you can forgive me." Evan said sitting down next to BB. BB finally decided to turn and look at Evan, who got his first glimpse of the red eyes and the tear stained face of his friend and immediately felt worse.

"I'm going to be honest with you. I was completely blindsided by your question because everyone besides Kaitlyn and Seth got the same story. I felt that at the time that was enough. I couldn't bear to tell anybody else the truth because it's still painful for me to tell anybody. For the last three months, I have been sad, angry, depressed, scared, and happy all for several reasons. For a moment tonight, I felt disrespected because you tricked me into giving more information than I was ready to give." BB said trying to clear his throat.

"Blaine, I am so…." Evan tried to say before being cut off by BB.

"Hold on. Let me finish. After sitting down here and truly thinking about everything. I realize that I can't bottle up everything anymore. It's caused horrible effects before and I can't do that again. I also realized that when you asked me about my past, it wasn't only that you were nosy…it's was because you were worried as a friend. I was more hurt than I was mad. As your friend, there really isn't anything to forgive. You were just looking out." BB replied smiling. BB stuck his hand out for a shake and Evan slapped it away. BB looked confused, but seconds later, Evan smiles and gives BB a hug as Johnny opens the door.

"I see everything is better between the two of you. Everyone was getting worried. Come on, let's go back inside and finish the game." Johnny says.

"Thanks, Johnny. Enough about us, what about you? Way to go asking out Candice. Proud of you, bud." Evan says slapping Johnny on the back. BB rolls his eyes as the three walk back into the house.

As Johnny and Evan sat at the table, BB was standing at the door just looking around the room at all the people who he could really call friends. Kaitlyn caught her cousin staring around the room with a blank look on his face and looked at him worriedly. BB locked eyes with Kaitlyn before giving her a smile and a small wink before taking his seat. Kaitlyn smiled when she realized that her cousin was going to be alright.

Even though there was a rough patch in the night which led to BB revealing a deep secret, but now that he has had some time to really think about things, he was glad the night ended the way it did.

Like what his mom said:

Some things were just meant to happen.

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Since I took a small break, I had to remember what exactly my plan was for this chapter, so I do apologize if the chapters seems awkward or choppy. As always, please tell me what you thought and get you the next chapter as soon as possible.**

 **To all the readers, thank you very much for taking the time to read the chapters, leaving reviews, and liking the story. I am completely grateful.**

 **Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!**


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